A Dark Past
by Sayo124
Summary: AU. Inuyasha is in an asylum for the underaged. Just one problem with that. He's not actually insane. Too bad no one else believes that. InuKag.
1. This is My Life

Disclaimer: I own InuYasha

Disclaimer: I own InuYasha! I own InuYasha! See? :holds up a Inu plush: I own Inuyasha! . . .Whoa! I do not own InuYasha! Sorry, but I can tell you, if I owned Inuyasha, Kikyou would be lo-o-ong cold in her grave. (Sorry for all those Kikyou fans, but it's the truth!) Now, on with the story! :cuddles Inu plush and starts to type:

Note: Demons and the such _do_ exist in this Fic.

AGE:  
InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter One: This is my Life

00000000

Prison; that's what this place is called - an insane asylum center; a home for those weirdoes, the crazies.

He wasn't crazy.

People said he was, but that only showed how much they knew, now didn't it?

He really couldn't blame people for assuming he had lost his mind. No one knew what happened to him those few months ago. Nor would they ever know.

No one would ever know of his past, either, or why he changed so much from the person that he once was. No one ever would. It wasn't their business, and it would never be.

The silver-haired boy looked out the window that was in his room – the only window that was in his room. It was the only thing he had that allowed him to peak out into the world. In a way, it was a false sign of freedom.

He could see that the sun was pretty high up. It was probably around nine or something. Soon those buffoons would come and try to help' him.

_'Keh!_' If he wanted help' wouldn't he have just come out and told them so?

_'Don't answer that_,' he told himself.

The boy sighed. Trying to find something to entertain himself until his morning meal came, he examined his claws - the thing that had turned all the girls on years ago.

Yes, he had stalkers. Crazy girls - very crazy. They belonged in here, not him. He wasn't half as crazy as them. Scratch that, he wasn't at all crazy compared to them.

His ears twitched as they picked up a sound. Someone was coming. He sniffed curiously, wondering who it could be.

It was just Miroku, his personal nurse.

There was a clinking of shuffling keys before Inuyasha heard a click' and the door slowly creaked open.

"Good morning, InuYasha! How was your night? Sleep well?"

_'Keh!_' How can he be so cheerful at such a gloomy place so early in the morning?

The hanyou rolled his eyes. "It was fine, Miroku." The answer held no emotions. It was gruffly said; half-heartedly.

"Oh." The black-haired boy deflated for a few seconds, due to the disappointment of the gloomy answer. But he didn't stay that way. As quickly as it happened, it vanished, replaced with a bigger smile then before.

"That's good. And guess what?"

The hanyou made no move to reply.

"This morning is pancakes! We apparently have a new chef who would like everyone to have a better breakfast then warm cereal!" The boy chuckled at his attempt at a joke.

When InuYasha still remained unmoved there was an awkward silence that lasted several long seconds. When it became nearly unbearable, Miroku cleared his throat.

"So, do you wish to go to the cafeteria and eat or stay here?"

"Cafeteria," came the nonchalant reply. _Where do I always choose?_'

Anything to get out of the small, cramped cell - it was a cage. Hanyous and cages did not mix.

He was supposed to be home with what the public considered his family. They weren't much – his mother, Izayoi; his father, InuTaisho; his brother, Sesshoumaru; and his almost-sister-in-law, Rin.

His mother was a model. His father was an actor. His brother was an author. Rin was a sweet girl who fell in love with that annoying excuse of a youkai, Sesshoumaru.

"Okay. Come on, we'll go together," Miroku said cheerfully.

"Keh! Like I could walk down there by myself!" the hanyou snapped in an irritated fashion.

Miroku totally ignored this comment and gestures with a small toss of his head - since his hands were full with Inuyasha's breakfast - that he should follow.

With a final roll of his bright amber eyes and an irritated sigh, he complied.

There was a five second pause as Miroku slammed the cell door shut before they both headed down the cement hall.

Miroku, being so optimistic, decided to have a conversation. "So, how've you been?"

What a stupid question; Miroku was InuYasha personal baby-sitter' because of who he once was a few short months ago and his relationship with the lecher.

"You should know!"

"So I take it you're all right?" the monk continued, pretending the hanyou answered with a "Yeah! It's been fine!" or "Few bumps here or there, but mostly okay."

Inuyasha ground his teeth in frustration, deciding to just go along with it, rather then receive a headache from arguing.

"Yes," Inuyasha gritted through clenched teeth.

Miroku nodded. "I hear we're receiving a new nurse. They say she's a damn sexy one, too."

"You are a hentai," Inuyasha ground out in absolute irritation.

Miroku chuckled nervously. "Yeah, but it's the way I was born. It came through the bloodlines."

". . . Right."

"You know, Inuyasha, this could be your chance."

"Chance at what?" The monk was so tiring.

"Love," Miroku slid his ID card through the door that separated the hall from the cafeteria before opening it for himself and the patient.

The hanyou snorted. "Yeah, right!"

"I'm serious. She's your age."

"Then she must have just graduated from college. Early, too"

"I guess so."

InuYasha shrugged. "Not interested."

Since they arrived at the dining area, the patient snatched his food from the monk and walked briskly away before the perverted one could question any further.

He found a table and sat down next to his friends, Naraku and Kouga.

"Didja hear about the new nurse yet?" Kouga drilled the second the silver-haired teen sat down.

He sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

"Yeah! I heard about her. Did you, Inu?" Naraku seemed to enjoy tormenting the hanyou like this.

He shrugged in nonchalance. "Don't really care."

Naraku and Kouga's eyes appeared to bug out some.

"You can't be serious!" they both chorused.

"Dead."

"Well, she's. . . " Naraku started.

"I wanna tell him!" Kouga whined.

Naraku rolled his eyes, "Fine, be my guest."

"She's pretty! With raven hair and stormy blue-grey eyes, slender legs, perfectly tanned skin, and all the right things in all the right places," Kouga informed in a slightly sing-song voice.

"And how do you know all this?" Inuyasha's eyebrows rose.

"Er. . . I. . . uh. . . might of hacked into the system and downloaded her picture. Oh, and I printed it out!" He shuffled with his baggy jean pockets before proudly displaying a fairly large picture of a girl.

"She's so-o-o-o pretty," the hanyou drawled, voice oozing with sarcasm.

"Isn't she?" Kouga purred.

"She's starting tomorrow morning, if you want to meet her," Naraku said to Kouga.

As soon as those words left his mouth, Kouga grabbed Naraku's shirt collar and stood up, ripping Naraku out of his chair and up with him.

"She is?! Why didn't you tell me this?! It's valuable information! What time?! Who's she baby-sitting'?!"

"Ca- - -n't bre- - -eathe," Naraku barely managed to say, his face started to turn an unnatural color of light blue.

Kouga released him, chuckling nervously, "Right, sorry. But you really should have told me all this. Now, spill your guts."

Naraku rolled his eyes. "Didn't you hack into the database? You should already know this. Besides, there are rumors flying everywhere, surely you heard?"

"Mistress Kaede almost walked in on me, when I was finished printing the picture, I was saved by my youkai senses, but I didn't have enough of time to get much info. And, no, I didn't hear about it; now spill." Kouga said it as thought this happened every day - which it might, actually, with him.

"Alright already, sheesh. Her name is Kagome Higurashi, she's eighteen, graduated college really early as you can tell by her age, about five foot seven, RN nurse with an associate's degree. . . um, that's about it," he concluded lamely.

Kouga nodded. "Kagome Higurashi. What a wonderful name."

"You're gonna make me barf," Inuyasha warned.

"You're just jealous that she probably won't be looking after you."

"Right. You do know she probably won't be looking after you, either. And if she does, by some magical unknown force, watch you I can reassure you she ain't gonna fall for you."

"But I can fall for her!" Kouga sighed dreamily.

The hanyou sighed in exasperation.

Yes, it was gonna be a very long day.

00000000

**I edited this ONCE AGAIN and rewrote a few things ONCE AGAIN. -.- I hate fixing it's crappiness, but if I don't, who will?**

**Review, pweeease?**

**Ja ne!**


	2. Daily Routine

Disclaimer :sigh: It's that- that big

Disclaimer :sigh: It's that- that big. . . _meany_ with the black robes and hammer-thingies (referring to the judge) that said if I don't say this they'll take away everything I own - a knapsack with a mess kit that's missing a pan, two ripped up and raggedy tee-shirts and a very lonely dirty nickel - so, for the record - and to make the meany "happy"- I- I- I. . . I don'townInuyasha. :holding back tears: Happy :blinks rapidly to keep vision clear: On a lighter note, _I _however own the whoooole plot. :sigh: Now, that _that's_ off my chest I have to figure out how to tell my grandmother I broke her expensive, favorite Russian porcelain plate and cup. :sits in the corner to ponder:

Note: Everyone is in their regular form (hanyou, youkai, miko, taijiya, monk, etc. etc.) but Miro-kun has NO kazaana! Clear? Kapeesh? Good!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Two: Daily Routine

00000000

Yes, it was going to be a very long day.

00000000

Inuyasha decided he would just gobble down his breakfast as quickly as possible then skedaddle to the next class-thing he went to.

Easier said then done.

"Hey, Inu, what exactly would you do if anything _hot_ ever happened between you and the new nurse?"

That annoying voice belonged to the one and only Naraku.

Damn Naraku.

The hanyou decided that he would talk to Kouga to escape this one.

"So, you going to the 'psychiatrist', if you want to call her that, today?" he asked, keeping only nonchalance in his voice.

Damn Kouga, too!

Waving his hand as if shooing off a fly, Kouga signaled Inuyasha to be quiet before asking, "What was that, Naraku?"

"Oh, nothing, I _merely_ wanted to know what Inuyasha would do if anything intense ever happened between the new nurse and him."

If was obvious that the look of innocence that plastered itself across his face was false, so sadly it was also obvious that Kouga would pick up the way this conversation with Naraku was going.

"Yeah. Say what _would_ you do?" either that look was contagious, or they_ both_ liked to torture him with such stupid words and questions – and they were both perverts, not a happy combination.

Well, when all else fails, go to plan B.

"Excuse me, Nurse Koharu?"

The nurse that had been walking by stopped and looked at him, "Yes?"

"Could you get either get Miroku or someone else to escort me to. . . wherever it is that I'm supposed to go next," his voice made it a command, not a question, and the tone seemed to seal it with that 'don't-mess-with-me' that made her walk over and retrieve the monk from his employee table.

00000000

The hanyou watched her retreating form.

Three. . .

Two. . .

One. . .

"Did you even _hear_ us?"

Inuyasha turned to face them, "Sorry, what?"

"I _said_, what would you do if you ever got into a _hot_ position with the new nurse?"

He shrugged, "Nothing, 'cause nothing would ever happen."

"But what _if_ something happened?"

"Nothing, 'cause nothing would ever happen."

If he had to repeat that until Miroku came, then so be it. He could be patient.

00000000

Koharu walked over to Miroku's table and gently nudged his shoulder.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your breakfast, sir, but your patient, Inuyasha, wishes to be taken to his next session."

He smiled, once again trying to appear cheerful, "Oh, I'll be right over. I'll just empty my tray. I was done anyway." He gestured to his tray that no longer held food, but a few random trash items, "I'm sorry to have held him up. I just haven't had any time to talk with my friends in a while." He sighed, "Well, now, I'll take this up and get on over to that poor puppy."

"I'll accompany you. After all, I want to apologize for tearing you away from your friends."

Miroku shrugged, though a small glint lightened his eyes, "Suit yourself."

They both walked over to the trashcan, having a short conversation, before making their way back over.

Miroku bid his farewells first, "Here's my stop. It was nice talking to you. . ."

"Koharu."

". . . Koharu. I hope to see you in a bed all alone sometime."

A light pink blush covered Koharu's pale cheeks, "I think that's a tad bit inappropriate, don't you?"

Miroku chuckled before he started to walk away calling over his shoulder, "See ya 'round, _Koharu_."

"Yeah," She mumbled, "Pervert."

00000000

". . . 'cause nothing would ever happen." Inuyasha replied for the eighteenth time.

"What an_ interesting_ conversation, Inuyasha; tell me, have you finally took what I told you about the female specimen to heart?"

Thinking that Kouga and Naraku had once again asked their question concerning the nurse, he answered with his famous reply.

"Nothing, 'cause nothing would ever happen"

Miroku cleared his throat, "_Or _maybe you just scratched that famous and delicate throat of yours and you're a broken record?"

"Nothing, 'cause- huh? What- Miroku?"

"Have you decided to join the sane, then, Inuyasha?"

"Where do I go next?" Inuyasha asked, deciding to totally ignore the last comment made by the 'wonderful' monk Miroku.

"Hmm? Oh! Outdoor activity."

Inuyasha sighed in a mix of irritation and exasperation, "Tell me you're joking!"

"I'm afraid not. What are you so down about anyway? Outdoor activity is whole bunches of fun."

"Says the optimist." Inuyasha replied in his normal nonchalant voice.

"For your knowledge, outdoor activity is good for your health, it gives you some nice, clean, fresh air to breath up, instead of the dingy- - -"

"Miroku, how about instead of blabbering, you just take me outside to get the damn class over with? Sound good to you?"

"Hmm? Oh, right! Your next session! Sure, right this way," he gestured toward the heavy metal door at the other end of the cafeteria.

"Whatever, just take me, okay?" Inuyasha stood up and crossed the tile floor, totally 'forgetting' to empty his empty tray.

Inuyasha stood by the door waiting for Miroku to get over there, as he just _had_ to say hello to everyone he walked by and give them _at least_ one compliment.

After about fifteen minutes, Miroku had finally reached the door and slid his ID card through it.

It gave a beep and clicked open. Miroku slid his fingers through the handle and opened it shooing Inuyasha through and following, closing the door behind him.

As they walked down the tidy hallway, Miroku _once_ again tried to make small talk, "So, Inuyasha, what_ was_ that little scene back at the table about?"

Of all the. . .

"Nothing, Miroku. The guys," Inuyasha involuntarily winced. How long had it been since he had used that word? Almost two years? And then he had been hanging out with some random people that had seemed 'cool' at first glance.

" 'The guys' what?" Miroku coaxed, seeing as there was a pause when Inuyasha had just cut off his sentence.

Inuyasha shook his head to clear his thought that had somehow opened a sore he had supposedly healed and forgotten about a few days after arriving here.

He cleared his throat, "The guys where merely teasing me. . . and in a highly perverted way that I thought was only possible when you did it."

Miroku's brow creased into a troubled feature, "That is _so_ not true!"

Inuyasha snorted, "Yeah, and I positively_ love_ outdoor activities."

"Shhh! I wouldn't say that so loudly," he paused to open the door that lead to the fenced in field.

"I'll yell it to the heavens next time if it makes you feel better."

Miroku turned to walk up to the nurse standing on top of the hill who was in charge of the session with Inuyasha in tow.

"_Believe_ me, it would make everyone's life so much simpler."

"R-i-i-ight."

The nurse turned his head to give the two approaching figures a sideways glance, "Takahasha, finally decide to join the party?"

"I was eating." The hanyou said in a 'duh' tone.

"A herd of elephants? Now get that chair-loving bum of yours over in that line there on the end by Suichikoku." The nurse turned to Miroku to say in exasperation, "So how's _your_ day been going. . . ?"

00000000

Inuyasha inwardly winced at that name: Suichikoku. Jakotsu Suichikoku. That crazy teen who thought he was a lovesick female part of the day, a - quote unquote - "pretty butterfly flowing in the breeze" for a few hours, before he would finish it up by acting as a football player who was running around through the building, trying to find some of his 'team players'.

It was only a few minutes later that the nurse walked over to the patients with a smile on his face.

Curse optimism.

"Okay kiddies!"

And the person who invented it, too!

"Today we're going to play Capture the Flag. Anyone here know how to play?"

All the hands rose - save Inuyasha's.

"Okay, um. . . Ellen? Do you have a question, you look confused."

"C-c-c-c-c-oul-ld y-you r-r-repeat t-t-the ques-s-stion?"

"I said, does anyone know how to play Capture the Flag?"

All the hands dropped.

The nurse chuckled, "So we have all newbies, eh? Well, that's splendid. Here's what you do: There's two hula-hoop, one on each side of the field. Inside those hula-hoop, there is a cone with a strip of plastic in the middle; that is your flag and one person is gonna have to protect that flag and make sure it doesn't get stolen. Now, when I blow my whistle, the games started, and everyone, beside the flag protector, will run over to the other side of the field and try to steal the flag without getting tagged, if you _do_ get tagged, you have to go back over to your side of the field. Now, anyone need me to go over the rules again?"

No hands were raised.

The nurse was slightly surprised. He _always_ had to repeat the instructions _at least_ twelve times every session, "Okay, any questions?"

Everyone, save Inuyasha, had their hand up once more.

"Yes, um. . . Ellen?"

"C-c-c-an y-you r-r-repeat t-t-he r-r-ules-s a-agai-in, p-p-please?"

The nurse sighed. He should've guessed.

"I'd be happy to. . ."

00000000

Ninety-three minutes and forty-two repeats of the rules later, the game was going along pretty smoothly.

Inuyasha was on team 2 as the flag protector.

Inuyasha yawned; this game _really_ sucked.

What where they losing by fifty-three points, now?

He lost track at thirteen.

Great; here came a brat.

"Umm. . . e-e-xcus-se m-me, s-s-s-s-s-s-sir?"

"Yeah?" he quirked an eyebrow, trying to appear menacing.

"C-c-can I-I-I h-h-have t-t-the fl-flag, p-p-please?"

"Eh?" he looked at it pretending to really think about it, "Well. . . I don't see why not. Sure."

The girl smiled happily and reached over, picked up the flag, and started to run - more like twaddle - back to her side of the field.

Inuyasha flattened his ears ahead of time.

Two. . .

One. . .

The nurse's whistle blew, marking the end of the round.

00000000

Precisely_ how_ long have they been playing?

Precisely _how_ many points were they losing by? Two hundred-and-forty or fifty?

Once again, he lost count.

The nurse sounded his whistle three times, signaling the end of the game.

Finally! He thought that game was _never_ gonna end. They had only been playing for almost five hours. At least most of the kids had started to master the game. . .

If all else failed, they could become professional game players.

. . .Maybe.

There were a few personal nurses standing about and those 'lucky' patients got to go to their next session early, which was probably lunch.

Inuyasha looked around. There was Miroku, clear as day, standing there, waiting to take him to his next session. Patiently waiting.

Damn patience.

Inuyasha slowly and grudgingly walked over to his annoying nurse.

"So, Inuyasha, how much fun did you have?"

Damn optimism, too!

"Plenty, Miroku. Now take me to where I'm going next."

The monk shrugged, "All you have next is lunch."

"Whatever." The hanyou rolled his eyes.

The monk sighed as they walked back towards the door before saying, "You _really_ need to lighten up. You won't be leaving this place anytime soon if you don't talk about it and at least _try_ to make an effort at getting better.

"Keh. As if I need to lighten up. I _am_ light."

Miroku opened the door that he unlocked and they stepped inside.

"I suppose so," Miroku said even though his tone of voice betrayed his words.

"I think I'm missing something," Inuyasha said suspiciously.

Miroku put on his best cheerful fake smile, unlocked the door to the cafeteria, and said, "No, nothing. You're not missing a thing."

"Right."

Miroku sighed, "I guess you better get your lunch, I'll be at my table for whenever you may need me."

The hanyou didn't even answer the monk, he walked over to the lunch counter, grabbed his tray, and walked over to the table where Naraku and Kouga were sitting, gossiping about any and all new rumors they might have been able to get their grubby paws on.

". . . Yeah, she_ is_ single according to her records." Naraku's voice floated over to the hanyou's ears.

"Yes!" Kouga's excited reply came.

Inuyasha could clearly see him swing his arm in victory as he sat down beside the people he no longer thought were sane.

"Inu, glad you could join us."

He grunted in reply.

"Yeah, Inu, I mean, come on. You've been in that little world of yours for so long. You don't know what you're missing! Like your chance with the new nurse that's coming in tomorrow- - -"

Inuyasha gave a growl of annoyance. He was fast losing his patience with the world that the Kamis seemed nice' enough to curse him with.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not interested in _anyone_! Not now, not in two years, not when I'm out of this fricken' place laying in my deathbed coughing up my guts, if that would ever happen." Inuyasha said in a calm voice while dropping his tone an octave to show his deep annoyance.

Kouga sighed, "Let me guess, you were rejected and now you're sulking because a girl wouldn't roll over and let you screw her."

Inuyasha made a face, he would never do something like that. His stomach churned at the thought of such a thing.

"That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard in my life."

"Then what is it?" Naraku asked in exasperation.

Inuyasha snorted, "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Naraku said skeptically.

Inuyasha shrugged in nonchalance.

"You're hopeless," Kouga said adding his two cents.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

00000000

Life was going to end.

"Have you made any progress yet?"

Yes, life was going to collapse and suffocate him. He would bet on that.

. . .Okay, don't take that seriously.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked, 'have you made any progress yet'? You know, with Sango."

"Why don't_ you_ ask her?"

Miroku shrugged, "I would rather get the information from you."

Inuyasha sighed heavily in annoyance, "Can you_ guess_ what the answer to that would be?"

". . . Er- - -"

"Exactly."

They turned the tiled floor corner to see a Jakotsu walk out of a room and close a door.

. . .Well, stamp out.

At first Jakotsu looked fine - lost - but fine, altogether. He was looking around in a manner that said he really was lost.

But the moment his eyes fell on Miroku and Inuyasha, they glazed over. Jakotsu bent over throwing something invisible behind himself before he turned retrieved whatever he threw and faced them.

Inuyasha was actually a little nervous to see how this was gonna end.

Jakotsu thrust out his left hand in a defending position, tucked the. . . was he pretending to hold a football?

Apparently so. . .

Well, he tucked the. . . 'football' against his chest in a protective manner, bent his back and neck a little so he was looking down before he came charging at them giving a very . . . wonderful battle cry.

Inuyasha moved out of the path and Jakotsu stormed by and threw the ball he had cradled on the floor screaming, "Touch down, touch down, do it again! We're on a line one more time so let's bring it on in! WOO!"

Inuyasha blinked in nonchalance before continuing down the hall and turned into the room on the left that Jakotsu had come out of before he got his wonderful touchdown leaving Miroku to deal with the very weird boy.

The room was pretty small yet cozy at the same time. There was one of those couches that he shrinks always had for their patients to lie on and spill everything about themselves, their fears, dreams, future, present, and, most importantly, their past. . .

Keh! Like _he_'_d_ ever tell the annoying bitch in here everything about himself. He wouldn't! Not now, not tomorrow, not the day after that, never. . .

A small ache rubbed at his chest.

It wasn't right.

No one had to talk about themselves if they didn't want to, no one.

"Good afternoon, Inuyasha. I see you're right on time for your one-thirty appointment. Have a good day?" a woman with long dark brown hair that was tied up into a ponytail said from her seat in a plush chair.

"Let me think about that. . . No, um. . . noooo. . . no. . . and. . . _no_."

"My, my. You're in a cheerful mood."

"So Sango, we gonna waste my time here talking or are we gonna waste time my time here trying to dig up my 'soft side'."

Sango gave a hearty chuckle, "Always have to lighten the mood, don't you?"

"If you want to call it that," He replied sarcastically.

"Well, time to start the session. Please, take a seat," she gestured to the black leather couch.

Inuyasha sighed. This was going to be one hell of a session.

00000000

". . . for you health, you know. Depression may seem like the answer, but it's merely a curse."

. . .An hour and forty-five minutes.

An hour and forty-five minutes of listening to that women rave about him trying to escape his past- which by the way she didn't have a clue about- by going into depression.

Shows how much she knows.

Didn't she know that he wasn't going to tell someone he didn't trust with something like his past?

". . . wrap up this session with an easy task. . ."

Nope, not a clue.

"Inuyasha? Are you still with me?"

"Do I really have anywhere to go?" he snapped back to the psychiatrist.

Was she actually pondering that question?

"Yes, you do."

Yes. Yes, she was.

He gave her a dry look.

"You can come back into reality, away from depression."

Not more garbage about depression!

"For the last time," the livid hanyou seethed, "I am not, nor will I ever be, depressed."

Sango sighed, "You are dismissed; our session is over."

"Finally!" Inuyasha cried.

He jumped up and brushed past Sango as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

He fumed down the hall, wondering how she could take a look at someone and think that she could identify what was wrong with them, without even understanding.

It was all_ her_ fault- - -

"Whoa! Oh, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blinked at the nurse. Well, apparently he couldn't think and walk at the same time, he almost barreled over Kouga. He'd have to be more careful next time- - -

Kouga! What was he doing out here?

"Kouga, what exactly are you doing without one of those nurses being with you?"

Kouga shrugged, trying to look innocent, "I asked for a nurse to escort me to the restroom and after a few minutes when I looked behind me, she wasn't there anymore so now I'm looking for her."

Inuyasha looked skeptical, "Really? Then what are those papers sticking out of your pocket, huh?"

A long silence passed.

Did he plan on answering?

Seconds ticked away.

Maybe not- - -

"Okay! I admit it! I went to Mistress Kaede's to get some records of the new nurse, but I needed to see the love of my life and know more about her so when she comes tomorrow I can talk to her about it."

Wow. . . what a confession.

"You. . . are an idiot."

Kouga mumbled something that sounded a lot like "That may be so, but I'm an idiot in love, unlike you".

"What was that?" Inuyasha growled.

"You heard it, and in case you didn't, I'll repeat it: That may be- - -"

"Kouga Ookami!"

Kouga winced; he already knew he was in trouble.

And alas, right after she called to the wolf demon, an elderly woman walked out from her office, positively fuming.

"Ah, Mistress Kaede. You look nice today- - - "

"Don't give me any innocent crap! Just what are you doing in the hallway without being with an employee?"

"Er. . . well, you see I was. . . uh. . . going to the restroom - with a nurse, mind you - and . . . uh. . . after a few minutes when I was talking to her she. . . she. . . vanished?" he said finishing his excuse with what sounded like a question.

"Uh-huh. I'm sure. And what's your excuse, Inuyasha?"

"I was waiting for Miroku."

"In the hall?" Kaede's eyebrow arched.

"Just left Sango's."

"Why didn't you wait there?"

Inuyasha sighed, nothing got passed her without an explanation, "She had other patients so I decided I'd wait out here to give them their privacy."

"So you walked around the corner?"

He shrugged, "I could still here them when I stood right by the door. I'm not human, remember?" as if to prove what he said, he twitched his ears.

Realization dawned in the woman's eyes, "Oh, well, I thank you for respecting other people's privacy; that was very considerate."

"Keh." Well it was a white lie; he couldn't say anything but that.

"And you, Mr. Kouga, I am very disappointed in, I would expect better of you."

Kouga sighed, "Yeah, I know."

Kaede nodded, "Good. Well, I guess I'll escort you to where you're headed. Now, where would that be?"

Kouga perked up, "Kagome's bed?"

Kaede's look darkened, "Excuse me? What did you say?"

. . .Was she starting to foam at the mouth?

"Uh. . . " Kouga fumbled for words.

He must have already figured out that his death had come.

" 'Uh,' Mr. Kouga is _not_ the answer to the question! I'll ask one more time: _What did you say_?"

. . .Yep, that was definitely foam forming at her mouth.

"I-I uh. . . w-well I said I was going to go to- - -"

Kaede's eyes flashed, "Kagome's bed!"

"What!" Kouga said appalled, "I have no intention whatsoever." He answered trying to look innocent.

. . .Could use some work, looked like he was terrified. . . or maybe that was what the look was for. . .

"I swear, Mr. Ookami," Kouga winced, it was bad when she called someone by their last name; it meant they were on her 'bad list,' and she would watch the person like a hawk, and if the person took one step out of line she would give them the worst punishment imaginable. It usually took a long time to get off the bad list'.

"If I hear a peep," Kaede continued, "that you or anyone else for that matter, has taken the slightest advantage of the girl, whether it be sexual or not, I'll have it that they won't be able to stand, eat, walk, or anything for weeks because everything will be sore from all the work they'll be doing."

Kouga gulped, "Right,"

Inuyasha sighed. He dug his own grave, that's all there was to it.

"There you are, Inuyasha! I was starting to wonder if you ran away. Oh, Mistress Kaede, what happened?"

The old woman shook her head, "Nothing, Miroku."

"Oh. Well, Inuyasha, are you ready to leave?"

"Where to?" said hanyou answered in a bored voice.

"Art, your favorite session,"

"Oh, I'll go get my crayons."

"Inuyasha," Kaede said in a stern voice, "That type of attitude will not be tolerated here. If you wish to act like that, I'll ship you to Shikigami before you can say sorry."

Shikigami; its name usually made anyone shutter. Shikigami was a lot different then Sengoku Center, where he was now. Shikigami was where the people who were in rehabilitation centers went to if they continually got in trouble or had a bad attitude towards getting better. Shikigami believed that if people misbehaved strict punishment would snap them back to reality. Shikigami; what a spiteful word. And yet, Inuyasha didn't fear it as the other patients did.

"Keh!"

"Inuyasha- - -" Kaede started in a threatening manner.

"Oh my! Is that really the time!" Miroku cut the woman off saying, "You really are going to be late if we don't hurry, Inuyasha."

With that, the nurse grabbed a handful of fabric from Inuyasha's shirt near his shoulder and dragged him off to their next destination calling over his shoulder, "Have a wonderful day, Mistress Kaede."

As soon as the two reached the other side of the building and they were standing in front of the door to the art room, Miroku released his grip on Inuyasha's shirt.

Right away Inuyasha folded his arms over his torso and scowled, "What did you do that for?"

Miroku sighed, "Inuyasha, if you aren't careful she's going to actually send you to Shikigami. So shape up or ship out."

"Keh, then I guess I'd better get packing."

Miroku gave the hanyou a pitiful look, "You're pathetic. You sulk in the corner because you don't want to be here; well guess what? That's not going to work like it did when you were seven, because here you have to work and prove that you're worthy of leaving, if you don't," he shrugged, "Then you'd better get comfortable, because your going to be here a long time."

Sighing for the last time, Miroku turned and left, leaving Inuyasha standing in front of the art door to walk himself in.

It took awhile for the monks words to register. But when they finally did he became embittered.

No way was he 'shaping up'. He wouldn't just 'shape up'. No bloody way. First off, he didn't belong here. Second. . . Miroku. . . Miroku talked. . . actually_ talked _about his past.

A low growl vibrated from the back of his throat.

He knew having a friend since childhood working here would do no good. He knew it, _knew_ it, _knew_ it!

His frustration died suddenly.

Keh, why should he care? If anyone talked about his past it didn't matter.

He shook his head to clear his mind before opening the door and walking in.

The middle aged red-head who had been leaning over a kid's shoulder looked up.

"Ah, Inuyasha, I see you joined the party."

"Yeah, was I supposed to bring party cake or something?" the hanyou asked rudely.

The women chuckled, obviously humored at his 'joke'.

"No, you weren't. Now, will you please take a seat by Jakotsu Suichikoku?"

Inuyasha sighed, what was up with him and standing or sitting or being by Jakotsu lately?

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." He said before complying and walking over to sit by the crazy boy.

"Okay now, we're going to have free drawing. But try and do your best because I'm going to hang these out in the hallway."

. . .Great, now it sounded like he was back in elementary school.

"Any questions?"

Inuyasha didn't even bother to raise his hand; he just called out, "Yeah, do we have to do it?"

The woman giggled.

"You're quite the joker, aren't you? Of course you have to."

What a dense woman.

He sighed, "Whatever."

The nurse smiled before handing out paper, pencils, markers and - curse the kamis - even crayons.

. . .Okay, now this really felt like elementary school.

"You have sixty minutes to work on this. You can begin."

The hanyou sighed. What sixty minutes of hell this would be.

00000000

"Okay, I'm coming around to check your progress." The red-headed nurse said fifty-five minutes into the session.

The nurse started to walk around and glance over the kids' shoulders while giving them compliments about it.

Inuyasha gave a final glance at his before he saw the nurse look over his work.

She paused a moment, as if thinking about what to say about his. . . er – masterpiece.

"Wow, Inuyasha," she finally said, "It's so. . . so. . . original."

The hanyou looked down at his paper with fake pride, "Isn't it?" he cooed.

"Er- yeah. Couldn't you have done anything more exiting? Like an airplane or a computer? Even a real person?"

Inuyasha pretended to frown, "What's wrong with the person I drew?"

"Well, it's a. . . a . . . a uh- - -"

"Stick figure?"

"Yes. That's exactly what it is."

"But it's art."

"There's no background, though. It's just. . . there. Walla. Nothing to decorate the huge space of white surrounding it."

"It's still art."

"It's not even colored."

"It's still art."

"It's only outlined in black marker, that's it. No imagination, no. . . no nothing!"

"It_ is_ still art."

The nurse smiled sadly, "You're right. And it's your art. Plain or no."

With that, she walked to the next teenager, who happened to be Jakotsu who drew the 'mystery man' of his dreams that he – apparently – was going to marry.

By the time the nurse had finished going around checking on the work, the session ended so everyone put their papers in a pile and started to leave.

It was only a few minutes later that Miroku showed up, cheerful as ever.

Did he mention how much he wanted to curse cheerfulness?

Probably.

"Yo, yo, yo, Inuyasha!"

Kami, kill him. Kill him now. Kill him while there was still time to spare. Was anyone going to kill him?

"How's the art been?"

Nope, those damned kamis were sitting up there. Laughing at him, he could feel it. He could hear it.

Inuyasha sighed in annoyance.

Miroku's smile faltered a little, only a little, before he beamed, "That much fun, huh?"

"Sure, Miroku. Now may I please go back to. . ."

"Silent Book? Sure. Let's go."

Silent Book, what a stupid name; stupid, stupid,_ stupid_ name.

Luck had it that 'Stupid' Book was only around the corner and Inuyasha was standing in a small library with a few chapter books, couple of reference, and hordes of picture books.

So many people at the center were barely literate that Inuyasha had to suffer the consequences – many picture books.

Sighing, Inuyasha decided he would make the best of his ninety minutes here and he grabbed a few reference and science fiction books before plopping down at the nearest window bench.

Before he read the book however, the hanyou scanned the cover for a title.

Hmm. . . interesting.

Aliens? Do They Exist or Are They Earth's Very Own Woman Species?

Couldn't say he disagreed with the book. Women were a mystery; like an alien.

But maybe that was because he never took the time to spend time and get to know one that he trusted completely. . .?

No! No! _No_! He would not go digging up his past, it would remain buried, where it belonged.

Inuyasha gave a sigh to help relax his nerves before he opened to a random page and started to furiously read.

He had to get his past off his mind. . .

00000000

'_Ugh. . ._'

What did he do to deserve _this_?

'_Headache._'

Glancing up, Inuyasha saw that it was 5:59.

Now what should he do? Party or sulk? Party because in just a few seconds he would be leaving the headache-giving hellhole or sulk because when he left he'd have to face Kouga and Naraku at dinner, not to mention Miroku. . .

Decisions, decisions.

The grandfather clock chimed.

All heads turned to watch the dark clock in the corner before getting up and placing back the books they had been reading or had already finished.

The hanyou snapped his book shut before he walked over to the shelf and carefully placed the book in the incorrect spot, not really giving a damn.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I didn't know you were a librarian. What, is it a new job?"

Inuyasha bit back a growl at that annoying voice.

"Why, yes. I did, Miroku." He drawled sarcastically.

"Well you certainly aren't doing a very good job of it! Here, let me help, they're all out of order,"

And so it began. . .

00000000

Fifteen minutes later, Inuyasha and Miroku walked into the cafeteria where they made their 'cheerful' partings and Inuyasha walked over to the usual spot as did Miroku.

Inuyasha didn't even have a chance to sit down before he was practically pummeled by Kouga.

"So, did you get in trouble?"

"For what?" he answered, deciding to play dumb as he sat down and started to eat.

Kouga sighed, obviously annoyed, "Did you get in trouble from Miroku seeing as how you played the 'innocent act' with Kaede."

Wow, he could tell. Well, no surprise there, the white lie he told Kaede would never be true, seeing as he couldn't care less about other people's problems they have with their life.

"Nope, not really." came the hanyou's muffled reply through a bite of rice.

Kouga seemed to give an awkward pout, "No fair! I'm on Kaede's 'bad side' now, and she's going to watch me like a hawk while Kagome's going to be around me, so I can't make a move on her!"

"Remind me to cry when I start to care."

"That's not funny! I can't get anywhere near Kagome now without being monitored!"

"Who said I was being funny?"

Inuyasha stuffed a few bites of chicken into his mouth.

Kouga started to very pathetically pout before he started to dine on his own dinner.

Inuyasha noticed Naraku though, sitting quietly, for once, and he became a little suspicious as to what he was doing.

"Naraku, anything wrong?"

Naraku's head shot up and the noodle he had been eating broke and fell to his plate.

"No!" he replied too hastily for Inuyasha's liking.

The hanyou kept his nonchalant posture so Naraku wouldn't suspect him of feeling so suspicious, "Whatever."

Naraku visibly relaxed when he thought Inuyasha wasn't looking; and that wasn't like him.

Inuyasha's suspicious feeling that something was amiss only grew.

00000000

Dinner slowly crept by slower then a turtle walks across an interstate highway.

But finally it ended and the cafeteria slowly emptied, along with Kouga and Naraku while Inuyasha walked over to where Miroku was - as usual - being perverted.

"So, ladies, I was wondering. . .?" Miroku tried to say but he was interrupted be a certain hanyou.

"So, Miroku,_ I_ was wondering if you were going to escort me out of here any time soon."

"Oh, Inuyasha. Yeah. . . uh. . . I was just about to go over and get you. Well let's go." Miroku grabbed Inuyasha and walked out quickly.

"So, you hentai, where to next?"

"Ummm, I do believe you go to. . ." Miroku paused to think, "Oh! You lucky little thing, you! You get to watch the littler kids and the teens with the special-er needs."

He had to go to that room that two year-olds played in to watch some kids that were too stupid to not get in trouble unless they were watched?

Inuyasha's mind went on rampage. Why did he have to watch little brats and retards?

"Inuyasha? Are you coming?"

"Yeah." He replied in a dark, pouting voice.

The hanyou and the nurse walked through the building and over to the nursery area where their destination was.

"Well, I'll see you in a bit!"

"Yep." Miroku walked away leaving an irritated hanyou to walk into the room unguarded.

Here goes nothing. Brace yourself and. . .

He walked in.

And he was tackled by a football playing Jakotsu. . .

00000000

A very tired nurse walked around in a frenzy to clean up the mess that was being made as quickly as it was cleaned up when she looked up at the clock with a relieved face, "Okay, kids, it's time to go; if you see your escort _please_ _do__** not **__hesitate __**in leaving**_!"

A couple of the children and teens left while some remained.

Inuyasha glanced up from his corner. No sign of Miroku.

Damn his luck!

00000000

It only took about another ten minutes for everyone to clear out.

And another twenty for Miroku to come.

"So, Miroku. What kept you this time?"

Miroku coughed slightly, "Why whatever do you mean?"

"Let me guess. Flirting and groping."

"Why, no!"

The two started to walk back to Inuyasha's room-cell thing. Whatever the hell people called it.

"Yeah, and I'm in an asylum center."

Miroku raised a brow, "You are in one, Inuyasha."

"Precisely, and you flirt and grope."

Apparently that worked.

They had reached Inuyasha's room and Miroku held out some clothes.

"Here, your change of clothes for the night and tomorrow. I'll wait until you change so I can take them back to the laundry room."

Inuyasha sighed before he went into the small bathroom and changed into his clothes and then walked out and gave the dirty ones to Miroku-

Or rather threw them at Miroku.

After the nurse peeled the dirty garments from his face he said his partings, "Well, have a good night, Inuyasha. And cheer up would you, you look so down."

Inuyasha snapped back, "Well, I _was_ tackled by a lunatic three times when he claimed I was hiding his football."

Miroku chuckled, "You're such a joker."

The hanyou glared, "Just leave already."

"Fine, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah. I hear it every night."

"Yes, you do. . ." Miroku hesitated before continuing, "And from a concerned friend."

Miroku flew out the door and locked it behind him when he saw that Inuyasha was lunging at him.

Some things would never change, no matter what. . . How tragic the truth could be sometimes.

00000000

Inuyasha was fuming.

How dare he!?

That's it; that was the last straw. No more! No more shit from Miroku; no more.

Inuyasha laid down on his soft bed and warm blankets.

Before he fell into his restless sleep however, he whispered in a tone that was full of frustration and an emotion he couldn't bow down to having, "I can't take it. . ."

The sad thing is, that tone he used was a sorrowful one; one that came from the depths of his iced over feelings. . .

00000000

**Right. I'll be editing this a lot it seems. I changed some names, so please be sure to take note if, by chance, you're re-reading this. If you're a new-comer, than please forgive any conflicts you see in the chapters. I'm going through and fixing them, though, so that counts for something, right?**

**Ja ne!**


	3. Innocent till Proven Guilty

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I write, you read, I no own (but if it counts, I have thirty-two IY DVDs, three movies, two plushie-plushes, and twenty-two manga), you enjoy. So, please enjoy. And if it isn't too much trouble, I would gladly accept reviews.

A/N: Thankies to the pplz who reviewed. I give you hugs and pockey.

K! On with this chappie!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Three: Innocent till Proven Guilty

00000000

The sad thing is, that tone he used was a sorrowful one, that came from the depths of his iced over feelings. . .

00000000

Morning.

Great. What a pleasantly wonderful day this would turn out to be. Not!

Inuyasha mentally groaned at the thought of a new nurse, here, with Kouga.

There was going to be one hell of a headache by the time he walked back into this room tonight. Damn.

The poor hanyou felt like walking up to the nearest wall and banging his head up against it until there was nothing left to bang against but rubble.

Okay, so he wasn't that desperate, but he was pretty close.

Very close.

Too close.

Inuyasha looked out the dirty barred window like he did every morning. Like always, it was about nine. Breakfast was soon.

Yep, all he had to do was sit here, in his bed, seeing as how he had already changed into clean clothes, and wait for Miroku to come and take him to the cafeteria. Not so hard now.

Hell yeah, it was going to be a rough day. That Kagome girl was probably arriving somewhere between breakfast and lunch. Knowing Kaede, she'd probably just be able to take this day to relax and get into the routine.

Kouga was sure to behave himself while Kaede was around, but once she took her eyes off of Kouga for a minute, Inuyasha wondered how long it would take until he drove the poor girl crazy.

Not long, knowing Kouga.

He gave Kagome two days. Most likely after those two days were up, she would be insane and flee as fast as possible away from this hellhole.

Too bad he wasn't the nurse fleeing for his sanity. Then no one could stop him from leaving and he'd be free! Free!

Free, what a missed word. He hadn't really used that word in a while. No, no scratch that, he hadn't used that word since he got here. No one could be free here. Everyone was kept in these cage-rooms.

No, no one could have freedom here. Probably no one would, either. Not for a long time yet.

Well, he could here-and smell- Miroku walking down the hall. Any minute he would arrive and drag Inuyasha out into the cafeteria. Well, it was a change of scenery at least. . .

Click! Creak. . .

"Good morning, Inuyasha! And how are you on this pleasant day?"

If he said it once he'd say it again: curse optimism.

"Cheerful."

"You are, really?"

"Why, no, Miroku."

"Oh,"

Did Miroku actually think he was being serious?

"Cafeteria now, Miroku." Inuyasha reprimanded.

"Oh, why yes. Let's go. Come on." He tossed his head in the direction of the door and they both walked out and the door was slammed shut.

Miroku cheerfully walked- almost skipped -down the hall as Inuyasha gloomily walked behind, looking like he was being taken to his death- one that he would have happily accepted at that moment.

"So, Inuyasha, I hear the new nurse will be arriving right after lunch." Miroku said- once again trying to make small talk.

"And you're telling me this because. . .?"

Miroku frowned. "You mean you actually don't care?"

"Have I given you any reason to believe otherwise?" Inuyasha asked in exasperation.

" . . . Maybe."

"What do you mean, 'maybe'?" The hanyou demanded.

"Nothing," Miroku muttered as he - like always - came to the end of the hallway, slid his ID card, and opened the door for the two of them to go through.

"See ya later," Miroku said as he walked over to his table.

"Sadly," Inuyasha muttered to himself before he walked over to the table where Naraku and Kouga sat.

Well, Naraku was sitting, Kouga was more. . . more. . . floating.

Inuyasha sat down and looked at Kouga with suspicious eyes. "What are you doing?"

"She's coming; she's coming; she's coming," he repeatedly muttered softly.

"Who?"

Naraku rolled his eyes at Inuyasha. "Who do you think is coming, baka?"

"Your grandma."

"I wish," Naraku mumbled. "But no, there's someone else who's coming. Here's a hint: new nurse."

"I truthfully don't know or care."

Naraku sighed. "Well then, you'll have to just figure it out on your own when she arrives."

"Yeah, right."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be eating your breakfast?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Not if I don't feel like it, besides I don't see you eating anything."

"Already ate it," Naraku said with a grin.

"Right."

"Have you been listening to me?"

Naraku and Inuyasha looked at Kouga, who now seemed to be ticked off.

"Sorry, what was that you were saying?" Inuyasha inquired purely out of boredom.

"I was saying, it's only a few more hours until she'll arrive."

"Who is this 'she' you two continue to refer to?"

Kouga's eyes widened in horror. "You mean to tell me that you _forgot_ that Kagome's coming today?"

"I sure didn't, Mr. Ookami."

Kouga closed his eyes in annoyance before turning toward the new voice. "Good morning, Mistress Kaede; why, what brings you here, right now, where we eat and I am?"

"I came to remind you that I'll be watching you at all times when around _Nurse_ Kagome."

"That is totally fine with me seeing as how I have no dirty or evil intentions whatsoever."

Kaede slightly glared suspiciously. "That's what they all say."

Kouga put up his right hand. "I swear on the biblio that I won't touch her,"

Kaede sighed in exasperation. "I do believe you mean to say 'bible'."

Kouga blinked a few times thinking. "Yeah, yeah! That holy book-a-mabob. I swear over that."

"Hopefully you'll live up to that promise," she muttered before giving one last glare at the youkai and walking away.

Kouga kept his hand up until he was out of sight before he brought out his left hand which he had kept hidden. Yep, you can guess, his fingers were crossed.

"Sucker!"

"You're an idiot!" Naraku cried as he whacked the back of his head, and judging by the sound it made, pretty hard.

Inuyasha looked at the ceiling, counting the tiles for the last few minutes that remained. Breakfast was almost over. Praise the Kami-sama!

00000000

"Inuyasha? Are you listening to the directions?"

"Eh?" said hanyou looked up at the red-head.

"I asked if you were listening to me."

"Oh, right. Then the answer would be no." he answered apathetically.

The art nurse/teacher sighed. She should have known better then to ask such an obvious question. "Could you at least _try_ to pay attention? I would really appreciate it."

"I'll try, but I'm not guaranteeing anything."

The women smiled and replied, out of habit, bilingually, "Thank-you, arigato."

"Yep, whatever."

He just _had_ to reply like that, didn't he? Yeah, and there were three-thousand-four-hundred-twenty-three tiles on the ceiling. Or at least, that was all he was able to count before he was hauled off to his session with the red-head.

"Okay," The nurse whispered gently, slightly hurt, before she returned to the instructions she had been telling the class before, "So, as I said, you can each draw something that means a lot to you. An old friend, a parent, a pet you have, flowers, anything is acceptable. There's paper in the middle of the table. Anyone need help, then just raise your hand and I'll come to help you. Anyone need help?"

Almost all the hands went up.

The nurse smiled before walking over to the first person.

Inuyasha looked down at the piece of paper he had grabbed.

What to draw?

Decisions, decisions. . .

Haha! He had one! A great idea! A wonderful idea! The best art drawing in the world, and it was there, in his head. In his marvelous head full of marvelous ideas. This would out marvel his last master piece! Now, to work. . .

"Okay, everyone! We only have about ten minutes left, so I'm going to came around and look at your work. During this time you can ask me any questions you like."

Inuyasha took one last look at his paper.

Yes, like he said before, it was a wonder drawing. It was one of a kind. Probably the best drawing that had ever been drawn. Yes, even Leonardo DeVinci would be jealous. . .

"Um, Inu. . . yasha. What is that? Is that what I think it is?" the nurse asked as she popped out of nowhere and examined his drawing.

"Yes, it is, in fact."

"But why. . . I mean. . . I told you to. . . you were supposed to. . ."

"Draw something that means something to myself?"

"Yes, but why. . ."

". . .did I draw a triangle?" he finished for her.

"Is _that_ what it's supposed to be?"

"Well, it has a circle in the middle."

"B-but. . . I mean. . . um. . . why. . . there's other things you could have. . . I mean. . .what I mean is. . .is. . .why did you draw this?"

"Your exact words, '_anything is acceptable,'_ so, what's wrong with what I drew?"

"You had plenty of time to draw more than two shapes."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa_! You have _no_ idea how incredibly hard it is to make perfectly circular circles and the straight lines that go to the triangle. It took me until now to do it all!" he said pretending to be hurt.

The nurse gave a smile that said she was sorry, "You're right. Good work."

She then walked over to the next person, low and behold, Jakotsu.

Yep, how mad the Kami-sama up there was, he didn't know. But he apparently pissed Him off seeing as how he had sat by Jakotsu twice in art and once in outdoor activity in two days.

Inuyasha stared at his paper that held his "masterpiece" until Miroku came.

But Miroku didn't walk in. Oh, no. He was too optimistic for that.

He bounded in; almost skipped, and. . . and. . . was he humming?

"Hello Inuyasha! How was the wonderful art session today?"

"So wonderful that I didn't think I would make it through it."

"Great! Now are you ready to go to your counseling session?"

"Couldn't be more ready to die."

"Well, that's kinda gloomy."

"No! Really?" Inuyasha said as he pretended to be in shock.

Miroku's smile widened, "And on a good note, now you're going to Sango's."

All sarcasm faded.

"Really?" Inuyasha asked in an and-I-care-why?' sort of voice.

"Why, yes."

Weird. Very weird. Super weird. There was a different look in the nurse's eye. More than just happiness. What it was though, he would probably never know.

"Come on." Miroku's dazed voice rang as they turned the corner to see Sango leaning against the frame of the door that led to her therapy room reading what seemed to be a letter.

"Yo, Sango!"

The girls' head snapped up, "Yeah?"

"Inuyasha's here."

The psychiatrist's eyes slowly skidded to Inuyasha, "Yeah, I see that."

"Well, if you're ready then I'm going to leave." Miroku turned and happily bustled down the hallway.

A long silence came.

"So. . . um. . . ready to go in?" Sango squeaked nervously.

Inuyasha gave her a weird look. Since when was she so bashful and shy? She had always been straight-forward with him. At ease.

"What's wrong?" he asked suspiciously.

Sango's eyes widened in horror, "Nothing! Nothing's wrong! Why do you ask?"

Inuyasha slightly glared at her, "I don't believe you."

Sango shifted uncomfortably, "I. . .well. . . you see. . . well. . . I. . . well, my. . ."

"Yes?" Inuyasha inquired impatiently.

Sango gently sighed. "I'm having slight family problems."

"Oh."

There was another slight pause.

"So, ready for your session?"

Inuyasha replied by walking into the room with Sango following behind.

The hanyou sat on the black leather couch and Sango sat on her red armchair.

"And so, did you take my advice on not being depressed. . . ?"

Half a minute into the session and he was already impatient with that speech.

Lunch just couldn't come quick enough. . . for once.

00000000

Over all the session went pretty smoothly.

Sango seemed pretty on edge, but she kept her cool pretty well and, like always, tried to probe her way through his emotions; which, by the way, she failed miserably at.

Miroku came, claiming he had "seen the light". Which most likely meant that he had met yet another young girl who he had asked to bear his children.

Yep, life was just peachy.

"So, Inuyasha," Miroku murmured, "Ready go Silent Book?"

Inuyasha gave Miroku a weird look.

Something definitely happened that he was skipping half the words in his sentences.

"You feeling alright?"

"Why, what mean?"

"That."

"What that?"

"You're talking weird; funky; creepy. Need I go on?"

"No, I am fine."

Great! Now he was pronouncing every syllable like a bumbling idiot who could barely speak the language.

"Right."

"No, really, I am!"

"Well, at least you're talking like a normal human being."

"Yeah."

The rest of the adventure through the halls was uneventful.

Mostly.

Right at the entrance to the door stood no other than Jakotsu himself.

At least he was standing in reality; but apparently, he was floating in whatever realm he was in right then.

He was gently flapping his arms as he muttered some incoherent words some of which included, "Why, my little daisy, sitting there so lazy, you're so merry, sometimes I wish you would, to me, marry."

Crazy little dude.

Miroku chuckled, "I take it you'll be able to finish the walk of ten feet to the room while I escort Mr. Jakotsu to someplace else, Inuyasha?"

"Keh, whatever." He replied as he continued his trek down the hall and into the room, stopping for a second to see what Miroku was going to do to pry the crazy boy off his invisible flower.

Miroku walked over to Jakotsu, "May I be of assistance?"

Jakotsu looked up at Miroku before his tongue darted out and wetted his lips.

Miroku cocked his head in curiosity.

And Jakotsu latched onto the poor nurse's head as he tried to suck the nectar from the daisy'.

Inuyasha had never seen a more pathetic sight. Eyebrows raised in amusement, he turned and continued to walk into the classroom door.

Yep, today, tomorrow, and any day that would come, Jakotsu would get crazier by the minute. Any day now they would ship him off to an asylum.

Yep, he could see it in the newspaper now: Crazy Boy is put in An Asylum.

Two problems there. One: He couldn't get a hold of the newspaper, not while he was in this funky farm; and two: the newspaper wouldn't and couldn't care less what happens to the crazy people.

'Good riddance!' they said. 'Without them the world is safer!' others would cry. 'Lock them up and throw away the key!'

Just like they did with him. Just like they threw him in this weird place. To forget about, to. . . to. . . it was all _her_ fault! She did this! She- - -

Whoa! Why was he worrying about something that happened in his _past_? There was nothing to be concerned about. Nothing at all. He wouldn't dig it up again. Not for a long time. Not till he was old and gray, laying on his death bed; and he probably wouldn't look back at it then, either.

Nope, never.

He randomly grabbed a book off the shelf and walked over to his favorite spot to read'-more like think, but oh well, it was a free country- that he went to. He needed to think. Think about a lot of things. So much was bugging him; he wanted to tell someone; he really did. But no more getting hurt. He promised himself that a long time ago. After what _she_ did.

People said that you were innocent until proven guilty, but _she_. . . _she_ was. . . well, different. She seemed to know him at one glance. Innocent, though? Ha! At one glance she was, but then as he got to know her, he realized there was a bad side to that little bitch.

Trying to clear his mind, Inuyasha opened the book and got lost in the huge sea of words.

00000000

'_Well, that book was trash._

'_And that one. . ._

'_And that one. . ._

'_Oh, and this one, too. . ._

'_Hey! An astronomy book- - - trash!'_

What was _wrong_ with these books?

They were sappy. There were romantic. They had happy endings.

Not right, not right at all. Books and romance never mixed right. It was vile, disgusting, repulsive, un- - - oh, it time to go.

Inuyasha snapped the piece of trash' shut and threw it carelessly in a random direction.

No one would ever know who exactly did it. He decided as he walked over to the door to leave.

And - amazingly Miroku wasn't being perverted. . . for once.

Hmm, maybe a supernatural force was actually listening for once.

Surely they knew how bad he hated Miroku's lecherousness and decided to give him a break. . .?

"So, I heard the new nurse arrived. And rumor has it that she's even more of a babe then they've been saying."

No, it wasn't. That. . . that. . . monster of a Kami-sama was just. . . laughing at him! Laughing! Laughing, laughing, laughing! Ugh, if he were only seven, he would be crying out of frustration. Frustrating life.

Cursed one, too. Very cursed. Super cursed.

"Really now? Where'd you here that?"

Miroku shrugged. "Oh, around."

"Can we _go_ now?" Inuyasha moaned.

"Sure," Miroku muttered before he started to walk out.

Miroku turned the corner and another and another. . .

A labyrinth. This damn place was a _labyrinth_!

Oh! And to make things even better, he was now going to watch the mini brats.

His day was made.

They rounded the next corner and yielded into the room of Inuyasha torture.

Miroku waved his partings before finding a meandering soul and escorted the - in Miroku's words - poor soul that lost its way.'

Yeah, ri-i-ight.

Inuyasha looked around. The damn room had more kids then usual. Wait. Oh yeah! There were more peoples here in the morning.

Inuyasha looked up and glared.

Those damned kamis! Damn them, damn them, _damn_ them!

One more time: damn them.

He sighed before returning his gaze to the cursed room he was now - sadly - in.

No. No! NO!

He would seriously be screaming in frustration if he were in another time at another place - like not here but home.

He felt a tug on his pants and he crashed down out of his contemplations.

"H- hey, m- mister? C- c- could you h- help me?"

Inuyasha's eyebrow arched, "With what exactly?"

The girl smiled. "I w- want you to help me c- color!"

What in hell!?

"Uh. . . pardon?"

"I want y-you to help m-me c-color!" the girl beamed.

"Sure, why not?"

The girl clapped her hands in excitement, "Hee! T-thank you!"

Right; cra-a-azy girl.

The girl grabbed his hand and led him to a small plastic desk and even smaller chairs. She let go of his hand when he was standing about two inches away from a chair and sat herself in one.

"W-what do I d- d- draw?" she asked suddenly shy as she fiddled with the pencil she had grabbed.

"How about your mom or something?" he asked.

Tears started to fill her eyes.

Inuyasha noticed this.

"W-wait! I didn't mean- - -" he had always been a sucker for crying girls.

"N-no." she said calmly as possible, "It-it's not l-l-like th-that."

Inuyasha cocked his head in curiosity, "What?"

The girl swallowed and paused for a few minutes to dam up her welling tears, "M- my m- m- m- mother d- d- d- died r- r- r- right b- b- before I- I- I c- came h- here."

"Oh. . ." Inuyasha murmured.

The girl's tears started to blur her vision, "I'll t- t- try and d- d- draw her as c- clear as I- I can r- r- r- remember. . . but it h- h- h- happened a few y- y- y- years ago when I was little."

Inuyasha shrugged, "Whatever,"

The girl smiled, "Thank y- y- y- you Inuyasha! Thank you s- s- s- so much for h- h- h- helping me d- d- d- decide what to d- d- d- draw!"

"Yep, sure."

The girl grabbed a piece of paper and began to draw.

Inuyasha leaned back against the chair. What a lousy day this turned into.

00000000

The girl hummed as she dropped her pencil, "It's d- done!"

Inuyasha glanced at it, "Nice work!"

The girl blushed before looking at her paper, "N- not r- really. . ."

"Whatever." He got up and stretched. "But my time here is through so I'm going to fetch Miroku."

"B- bye," the girl said as she gave a slight wave and she picked up her paper to give a more thorough inspection.

Inuyasha made no move to reply to the girl's farewell but turned and walked away.

Miroku was only a few minutes late taking him to lunch.

"So I hear the new nurse will be there," Miroku said with a lecherous grin as they turned another corner.

"Oh, really? If I start to care I'll tell you."

Miroku grinned. "I'll make a note of that."

They were at the entrance of the cafeteria, so Miroku got his ID card and swiped it, making it unlock.

Inuyasha didn't even say good-bye to Miroku before he walked over, grabbed his lunch and marched over to his normal seat – looking like he was the king of Spain the whole time.

When Inuyasha sat down though, he noticed that Kouga wasn't there.

But Naraku was.

That could not be good.

Inuyasha slightly cleared his throat before asking, "You know where Kouga is?"

Naraku face turned into a look that teachers gave when the answer to a question they gave was obvious.

"Where do you _think_ he is? A little clue: The new nurse is here."

Inuyasha blinked. "Really? Then he must be getting his lunch before sitting over here. I bet he's in his way over as we speak."

Naraku sweat dropped for a quick half a second.

"No, you idiot! He's trying to get the attention of the nurse! So he's sitting as close as possible! Even a newborn could put two and two together!"

"Oh. . . I'll go fetch him; don't feel like having the old hag give me one of her speeches that I was supposed to have helped her out and be mature by making sure that he didn't go near the nurse."

Inuyasha stood up and walked over to the table that he could clearly see Kouga sitting at.

As he neared the table, though, his nose twitched once. Somebody must have placed some flowers or something out; there was a pleasant smell over here.

Inuyasha stopped by Kouga, who looked horrified that he had been caught' near the new nurse.

"Yo." Inuyasha said simply, having fun torturing Kouga.

"Yo yourself; you know, Inu, I heard that they had. . . pancakes over at the food-place. Why don't you go get some and then eat it somewhere. . . far away from me."

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose, "Pancakes for lunch? You know Kouga, you look like you're nervous. Anything wrong?"

Kouga started to twitch and play with his fork, "No, no, no. Nothing."

"Oh, fine then."

Inuyasha paused a moment as he observed Kouga's obviously nervous behavior.

"So, Kouga, you trying to get the attention of that nurse?"

Kouga hesitated before sighing. "Yeah, okay, you caught me."

"Well, if that's what you want you don't just sit here doing nothing," Inuyasha stated as he sat down in the chair beside the wolf youkai.

"What do I do then?" Kouga asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Well, first you try and get her attention." Inuyasha bit his bottom lip to stop the evil grin from spreading over his face. "I'll do it for you."

The moment he got up, Kouga's head sprang up from its original position.

Inuyasha looked around; who was that new nurse and what did she look like again?

"Uh. . . Kouga. Where is she?" Inuyasha felt stupid asking, but he seriously forgot who she was and her appearances.

"Over there," came the other youkai's mumbled answer and a toss of his head.

Inuyasha looked in the direction Kouga pointed out. There were two nurses - both female.

But Inuyasha thought that he saw the one in the halls before. Maybe. . .

So then it must be the other one. What was so pretty about her?

Not much, right?

He didn't know, really. He never judged which girls were pretty and which weren't so he wouldn't know about it.

He sighed before questing over there; hell of a day _he_ was having!

"Excuse me, are you that new nurse people won't shut-up about?" Inuyasha asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

She looked at him, smiled and – totally ignoring the one part of his statement – answered, "Yeah, I'm new here. Name's Kagome. Who're you?"

"Doesn't matter," he mumbled, really wanting to go over and eat that lunch that was most likely getting cold. "I'm just curious about a few things."

Kagome cocked her head. "Like what?"

"Well, my friend wanted to ask you a few questions. Mind if we go over there and talk?"

Kagome hesitated. "I don't know. Erm. . . I guess a few questions won't hurt. They just have to be quick, okay?"

"Sure. Over here." He turned around and waited while she made a short farewell speech and a few apologies to the nurse that she had been sitting by and talking with.

He led Kagome over to the table that Kouga was sitting at, his face practically in his lunch.

Inuyasha sat beside Kouga while Kagome pulled out a chair and sat down across from both of them.

"So I was told you wanted to ask me something. . .?"

Kouga's head shot up. "Areyousingle?" he blurted.

Kagome's brows furrowed. "Pardon?"

Kouga took a deep breath - probably to keep from fainting. "I asked are you single'?"

Kagome scrunched her eyebrows. "I don't see how that's a question I should be answering; but yeah, I am."

"Have you ever been in a serious relationship? Any old flames?"

Kagome did a double-take before jokingly asking, "You aren't a rapist are you? You seem to be guilty of it."

Kouga gave a devilishly sexy - or so he called it – smile. "I'm innocent till proven guilty."

00000000

**I went through and fixed up **_**some**_** of the mistakes, I got lazy after a while and told the chapter to screw itself. I'll be going through the chapters in no particular order and put in the dividers so it'll be less confusing to read. Currently, there's nothing to tell you when time goes by… I'm fixing that, I swear!**

**Ja ne!**


	4. Mentally Blinded

AGE:

Disclaimer: -ish ninja- Me? Own? Yeah, okay.

A/N: No comment. (Thank you for reviews, though.)

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Four: Mentally Blinded

00000000

"I'm innocent till proven guilty."

00000000

Kouga seemed to be over-excited – in a bad way. The questions just poured from his mouth. Half the time Kagome didn't know what he asked.

Inuyasha looked at Kouga as he started to speak some sort of language known as. . . nothing. He was merely combining words and speaking at such a rate that it sounded like a radio was being fast forwarded.

"Want knomore abou."

Kagome blinked in confusion, "Excuse me? Could you repeat that?"

Kouga took a deep breath as he said a little more slowly, "I want to know more abou- - - I mean _about_ you."

"Oh. . . well, there's only about ten minutes left in this lunch period. . ."

Kouga deflated as his little talk with the nurse was almost over; he was disappointed, very disappointed.

Kagome cleared her throat, "But I could talk a little tomorrow if you want me to- - -"

"Yeah!" Kouga cried, causing to people that were sitting beside him to look up from eating their lunches as cast Kouga curious glances to see what he was hollering about.

"What are you looking at?" Inuyasha barked harshly, irritated at the gapers; the people quickly looked away.

"Um. . . if your done asking questions then I guess I'll go- - -"

"No!"

Kagome jumped in surprise at Koga's outburst. "Then I'll stay,"

Kouga grinned and resumed his inquisition. "So do you know who you are going to be. . ." Kouga stopped and tried to look for the right word since she probably wouldn't know what he meant by using the word 'baby-sit'; so instead he finished saying, "watching over closely?"

Kagome's brow furrowed as she contemplated the question. Rolling the words over in her head; seeing as how she didn't quite understand the meaning.

After a few pregnant seconds, she realized what Kouga asked her, "Oh, I'm not going to release her name, she can tell you herself –if she wants to, that is."

" '_She'?_ A girl?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with girls?" Kagome asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Now, wasn't he in a predicament?

"N-nothing. . . I merely meant you were going to be helping a girl, when it was me that I was hoping you- - - never mind. So. . . How long are you planning to be working here?"

Kagome considered this. How long _did_ she consider staying here? A while maybe. . .

maybe only a little while. She wasn't in charge of deciding things like that, after all. . . .

"I'm not. . . _totally_. . . sure about that." She said slowly, deliberately.

Kouga tried not to look disappointed, "Oh. . . so that means you might only be here for a day, a week, or even just a month?"

Kagome looked at the table, blinking her bright, intelligent eyes as she mulled over the question. She never did like lying, even if it wasn't her place to make a comment, and she was absolutely terrible at acting. She could never act to escape a tight position. Never. Even if her life was at stake.

But how long was she staying? She has worked so hard at this. So hard, in fact, that it wasn't even funny, not in the littlest bit. She had advanced two grades and had gone to school to become an RN nurse for only two years, earning an associates degree.

A short way to put it: she worked her ass off.

But how long _was_ she going to stay?

"I know I'm staying for a while. Not for my whole life. . . but a while. . . I_ think_."

"You mean a couple of years. . .?"

A couple of years. . .? Maybe.

"Probably."

Kouga smiled, "Well, then. Welcome to Sengoku Center."

Kagome cocked her head and asked a bit wishfully, "So are you done with your questions?"

"Hel-e-eck no." He said, catching himself from swearing in front of Kagome.

"Oh. . ."

To Kagome's disappointment, he asked her things for the rest of the ten minutes and took her up on her foolish offer of resuming the little interview' tomorrow if she wasn't busy she had given earlier.

The threesome was just about to make their partings when one of the nurses that was closer to Mistress Kaede – Hitori? – came over.

"Excuse me, Miss. . . Kagome, was it?"

The younger women nodded her head, "Yeah, that's me"

The nurse smiled a sweet, kind false smile. "Mistress Kaede instructed me to gave you this folder," the wavy-locked girl held a manila folder in her outstretched hand, "I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's some sort of paper work that was forgotten about," the nurse said quickly, to help the hesitant girl.

"Oh. Of course; I'm sorry! I'm just always nervous that I'll be fired; it's my first time in a place like this."

The other nurses' smile was genuine this time, "Don't be like that! From what I heard, everyone adores you! I hear nothing but compliments. Everyone on staff is impressed with your skills; they apparently thought that because you're so young, you'd be shaky at what you do. Boy have you proven them wrong!"

"Really?" Kagome gave a flattered smile. "I'm not that good."

"Don't be silly! For your age you're pretty good at- - - excuse me? Don't you two have somewhere to be?" the bored hanyou that had leaned up against an invisible wall and the eager youkai that was leaning forward slightly, trying to hear the conversation even though his hearing was a cute and he could hear them talking a hundred feet away, "Is it polite to be eavesdropping- - - er. . ." she seemed to notice that she was in a center where the patients didn't think straight – or in most cases – didn't think at all, "I mean, it's not nice to- - -"

"We know what you meant." Inuyasha snapped irritably.

"Fine then, I'll escort you to your next activity." The nurse said, trying to keep her temper.

Before she did so, however, she turned to Kagome, "Do you want to come with? I could show you around as I escort these two." She motioned in the general direction of Kouga and Inuyasha.

Kagome shook her head, "I have my own to escort. But thanks for the offer. See ya round?"

Inuyasha, getting annoyed, cleared his throat in a manner that seemed to say that he wanted out of there – which he did.

The nurse gave a heavy, silent, frustrated sigh as she said a few last words, "My name's Ayumi, if you ever need me. And feel free to pop by and say hi."

"Ahem!" Inuyasha said, making a bigger show of clearing his throat.

Ayumi turned to face the arrogant hanyou and silent ookami. "Ready?" she asked in a strained to the limit voice.

"I've been ready," Inuyasha said rudely while Kouga merely shrugged silently.

Ayumi turned and motioned for them to follow as she slid her own ID card into the scanner and led them through the halls. But as they left eh cafeteria room, Inuyasha realized that the sweet floral scent he had smelled earlier was disintegrating.

Inuyasha seemed to remember just that moment that he had a nurse of his own that moment – Miroku. He hesitated in continuing with this nurse. He should go back and tell Miroku that he was going to be escorted by someone different. After a few second ponder, he ignored the fact he ever thought of it.

It was just then that he realized that the nurse had a curious look on her face.

"What are you thinking about, wench?" he snapped.

"Wench isn't a nice name." Ayumi commented.

"Whatever. What's bothering you?"

She sighed. Kouga cast her a curious glance, "Yeah, what's up?"

Ayumi seemed to have an inner, mental battle of wills before she answered, "I was just curious as to why you were sitting with Miss Kagome. You don't seem to have any. . . _special _needs. Why were you sitting with her?"

"Questioning her about things." Kouga said without hesitation.

Ayumi seemed troubled, "What things?"

"Just things about her personal life."

Ayumi perched her lips in a thin line that made her look like she had just had some lemon juice but said nothing because they had arrived at their destination – outdoor activity.

"Maybe I'll see you sometime." Ayumi said cheerfully even though there was a troubled look on her face still.

"Glad that's over," Inuyasha said as the young women walked away, totally ready to leave and not talk to Kouga again unless he absolutely had to.

Kouga could be so annoying sometimes. He was attention deficit, meaning that he would do almost anything at times to be noticed; and apparently, since he liked the new nurse, she was going to be the target of all his schemes now. Good for Inuyasha, bad for that poor, unsuspecting nurse.

"Wait."

Inuyasha turned to face Kouga, "Yeah? What do you want now?"

"Will you come tomorrow again to help me talk with Kagome?"

Inuyasha took a deep, steadying breath to keep from exploding.

"Fine; why not." He bit out through clenched teeth before he sharply turned and stomped away to the field where the players where, being instructed on the game they where playing – Capture the Flag. His patience was really being put to the test a lot lately, and his temper was one thing he didn't have control over.

". . .A point. It's really easy. We played it yesterday. . ."

Inuyasha's ears twitched. Even from here, he could here the coach's instructions. People from Europe could hear with how loud and slow the damn guy was talking.

He glances over at Inuyasha's direction, "Well, well, well, here's the late-comers. Please come over here and join us. I'm pretty sure you'll have fun."

"Fun my ass. . ." Inuyasha mumbled.

'_More like he'll have __fun__ as he _tortures_me_,' Inuyasha glumly thought.

Inuyasha decided not to wait for Kouga, but instead walked over to the line that had formed.

"Now where was I. . .? Oh, yes! I was just about to. . . Mr. Ookami, could you have walked any slower?" the coach asked in an irritated voice.

Kouga, who looked a little daze, and now irritated from the coach's question, fought back a glare as he looked the older man in the eye, "No. . . I don't think I could have, in fact."

The coach gave the teen a dark look, "Please join your friends, and now would be a good time, too."

Kouga snapped hi head in the direction of Inuyasha before marching over to him, "Very well." He said so quietly that the human's ears couldn't catch the words.

"As I was. . . does anyone have questions?" the coach asked giving a friendly grin that betrayed his earlier feelings of irritation he had showed to Kouga.

Almost all the hands went up and his grin grew, making it obviously fake, "Yes, Karina?"

"I've. . . wondered. . . if. . . you. . . could. . . uh. . ." her voice was slow and it sounded like she was overdosed with drugs – and apparently, she forgot what she was going to say, "Uh. . . could. . .you. . . what?"

"Could I. . . do something for you? Help you do something? _Repeat _something?"

"I- - - repeat. . . rules. . .?"

"Don't hurt yourself. I can repeat the rules. Is that what you wanted to ask?"

"Uh. . . yeah?"

"Okay. . ."

And so it began. . .

Inuyasha groaned as yet _another_ brat 'ran' – a.k.a. waddled – to him. Like always, he was the flag protector.

The boy stopped and looked up at him, his mouth gaping open, his eyes dazed slits.

Inuyasha's eyebrow arched. '_Is he okay. . .? Oh, wait, we're in a funky-farm. Nothing's okay._'

The boy's eyes glazed with concentration.

"Uh. . . what do. . . I do. . . now. . .?"

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose higher. '_You're going to catch flies if your mouth stays open like a fucking black hole!_' his mind mentally thought cruelly.

"You take the flag. . . if you- - -" He cut himself off, to stop the insult. The kid didn't deserve it. He was mentally ill. _'Don't make him feel bad._'

'_Keh! As if he __could__ feel anything!_'

The boy drooled slightly. "Okay."

Inuyasha jumped out of his way, wrinkling his nose in disgust. '_Putrid! Vile! The kid's disgusting!_'

The boy turned around, blinked and waddled back towards his half of the field.

Inuyasha shuddered. Compared to that kid, no, his was not crazy. But no one else could see that.

"Keh."

'_Blinded by stupidity. . . or arrogance. . . who knows? Who the hell cares? Physically, they can see perfectly fine. However, they can't see a thing; they're all mentally blinded_.'

00000000

**Finally! Next chapter. Ankies for the reviews! And keep them up!**

**Ja ne!**


	5. Never Fooled by the Foolish

Disclaimer: Okay

Disclaimer: Okay. . . well. . . I still don't own him. . . but. . . maybe someday I will. . .until then I'll sit by my window and wish on every star. . . yeah. . . like that'll work. . . .

AN: Well, I'll just mention right now that the rating on this has a high chance of going up after a while. . . so don't be surprised if it rises up to X. . . um. . . sorry?

Okay. . . now to this chapter. . .

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Five: Never Fooled by the Foolish

00000000

'_Physically, they can see perfectly fine. However, they can't see a thing; they're all mentally blinded._'

00000000

The grass was a soft padding that made swish-ing noises every time a step was made. Very bright and shiny when the sun reflected over it, it immediately made enemies with the sensitive tissue known as eyes.

That was why Inuyasha hated it.

That and the fact that it was so hard in the winter and poked the bottom of his delicate, _sensitive_ feet; turning into a shade of brown and hardening as it died in the winter only to come back in a few months – refreshed and renewed and so _lively_, it acted like it hadn't done any harm in a former life.

Inuyasha blinked in confusion at the sudden 'crunch' he heard. He was stepping on grass, why would he hear a. . .? He looked down to inspect it.

Great; he stepped and squashed a bug that was pretty ugly and big.

His day was made.

Inuyasha looked up jerkily, scowled, and continued to trek over to where the damned monk stood.

Miroku looked up from the nurse he had just been talking to, only to see a sour-mood-ed hanyou trekking down the hill.

Miroku's smile turned to one of pity. The hanyou didn't know what Mistress Kaede wanted to do to him, did he. . .?

"Why, hello, dear Inuyasha!" Miroku beamed. Better be extra nice, to make up for what was to come. . .

Inuyasha's scowl, if possible, darkened, "Do _not _call me _dear_, Miroku."

The monk gave a nervous chuckle, "Right, sorry. Now, it's dinner. Aren't you happy? You get to escape this place you call outdoor hell. Inuyasha, don't give me that look. You know it's true. . . ."

Inuyasha was not so sure, however, that Miroku was in his right mind. The monk was almost acting how he used to before Inuyasha came to this center.

"Miroku. . . do you have a temperature. . .? Or. . . maybe you bumped your head. . .? Did you walk towards the light last night in your dreams. . .? You seemed just fine this morning. . . . Are you mad? Are you mad that I didn't tell you I was leaving with that other nurse at lunch. . .?" Inuyasha's voice was void of any true concern.

The monk in question decided to stop the hanyou's questions before he hurt himself, so he changed the subject, "Speaking of which, Inuyasha. . . this morning. . . I'm not mad, but Mistress Kaede seemed pretty upset. . . did you say something stupid. . .? It would be like you to do that."

Inuyasha gave Miroku a skeptical look, "Why would I even bother wasting my time talking to the old hag?"

"Inuyasha. . ." Miroku started in a gentle scolding manner, "you really should show more respect to her. Not only does she run the center, she's an elderly lady and we must respect those older then us. . ."

"O-o-oh! So if a twenty-year-old person walked down the street, we're supposed to bow down and worship them. . . ?"

"No, I didn't say that. . ."

"But you implied it. . ." Inuyasha said, getting a small amount of pleasure trying to trip up the houshi.

"No, I merely said we respect the elderly, not worship them. Respect meaning help them do some harder tasks, and not talk bad about them."

"Am I supposed to be taking notes. . .?" Inuyasha asked in a highly sarcastic tone of voice.

Miroku glanced at Inuyasha, "Are you joking?" Miroku shifted and started to walk to the entrance of the building, with Inuyasha following closely.

"No."

"Oh, well you don't have to. . ." suddenly, Miroku's lips twitched in a smirk, realizing what Inuyasha was doing, "But if you want to, it's fine with me. You might need a paper and a pencil, however. Speaking of which, we're off for some nice art madness after our wonderful meal!"

"Guess it depends on who you ask on whether or not the meals here are wonderful'." Inuyasha replied glumly, "And art is not as wonderful as you may think."

"Is it that hard, Mr. Everyone-is-My-Slave?"

Inuyasha blinked, not flattered with his nick-name, "Everyone is not my slave."

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" despite what was coming from him, Miroku sounded awful cheerful.

Inuyasha hadn't said it in a while. Why not mow? Curse optimism.

Suddenly suspicion rose up and almost choked Inuyasha. Why did he small different? Almost like he pitied someone, someone in particular – him.

"What's on your mind?" Inuyasha demanded.

Miroku suddenly swung to face the hanyou, "What?"

The scent of nervousness and pity grew a hundred fold.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "What's got you acting weird? More importantly, why do you smell like my mother just died and your trying to make it all better?"

Miroku started to visibly sweat, "I'm. . . not supposed to say. . ." he muttered.

"That stopped you before?"

"Well, Inuyasha, looks like we better hurry or we'll really be late for dinner." Miroku briskly turned and stalked towards the door at an unusually swift pace.

Inuyasha blinked in confusion before following.

Figures that damned monk would try and run from the question.

They stopped momentarily so Miroku could open the door for them before they continued the walk to the cafeteria.

"So, Miroku, I know for a fact that you're messin' with somethin', but what? You're not one to pity me. You know me best, and I know you – you do not pity me."

Miroku gave a quick glance over his shoulder to look Inuyasha in the eye before his gaze snapped back to where he was walking, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Miroku. . ." Inuyasha began in exasperation.

"Why, would you look at that. . ." Miroku hastily slid his I.D. card through the machine, "we seem top have reached the cafeteria in record time," he shoved the door open, "Now, go run along and play with your little friends." Miroku said, sounding like a mother persuading her child to play outside.

Before Inuyasha could protest, Miroku fled top his employee table were a few other nurses sat talking and enjoying their meal.

Inuyasha sent the monk a last glare before he walked over to grad a tray.

The lunch lady was totally out of it. She was sitting on a stool behind the counter, reading a girly magazine.

Inuyasha didn't even bother to talk to her and ask for a tray, he turned and walked over to the table Kouga and Naraku were sitting at, empty-handed.

As Inuyasha sat down, he realized that, besides Kouga and Naraku, he was not alone at the table.

There, looking like a gorilla in an aquarium, sat Jankotsu. He was poking his dinner like it was some sort of new discovery that would rear up and attack if not treated the proper way.

Inuyasha cleared his throat to try and attract his attention, but Jankotsu remained unmoved.

Inuyasha gave a more dramatic sound, "MURUMA!" he coughed, though it sounded more like 'mama.'

Jakotsu looked up and at the hanyou.

Inuyasha blinked. What did he want to say?

When Inuyasha couldn't think of anything, he decided to have a staring contest for no apparent reason.

Jakotsu blinked.

Inuyasha blinked.

Damn, he was bored!

He looked away. Jakotsu was the most. . .

Where was that going?

"Yo, Inuyasha! I have something I need to say to you!"

Inuyasha nonchalantly blinked before turning to face Kouga. He was grinning ear to ear.

Scary. Did he know just how he looked when he did that. . .?

"I want to thank you for being there with me when I needed you this morning. And I want to thank you for coming tomorrow ahead of time. If I'm going to win Kagome's heart, I'll need all the help I can get." Kouga was beaming.

Was that healthy? To be that happy. . .?

"Well, Mr. Ookami, to win someone's heart, why don't you leave them alone."

Kouga tensed and turned to face the owner of the voice, "Mistress Kaede, what a. . .pleasant. . . surprise!"

The elderly women gave Kouga a calculating look, trying to see if he looked guilty or nervous.

Her gaze searched him up and down. Her eyes mentally tore him apart as she searched.

"I've been hearing things." She said simply.

"What type of things?" Kouga grew just the tiniest bit nervous.

"Things about you and," she tore her gaze from the youkai in question, only to replace it on Inuyasha, "you, too."

Inuyasha gave the old woman a look of boredom, "What could I have done to have you angry at _me_?"

"Apparently, you accompanied Mr. Kouga this morning when you were asking very personal questions to our young Kagome."

Inuyasha blinked, nonplussed.

Kouga immediately spoke up, "But she didn't seem to mind that we were asking her that type of questions."

Kaede turned her head to look at him, "That may be so, but asking such private questions and knowing someone so intimately like that is prohibited in this center."

Kouga visibly thought about that before opening his mouth to say something, "Will she get in trouble for what we did?"

Kaede answered without hesitation, "No, she did not even know what she did was wrong. Well, she did, but it wasn't enforced to her as strongly. She was hesitant to answer, but she's too kind to say no to something, don't take advantage of her. And if I hear this happens again, there will be consequences worse then what you're getting."

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Inuyasha drawled.

"No, you two will have to be punished for your crime."

"Punished? _Crime!_ Now we're criminals!" Kouga sputtered.

"No, but I have to make sure it doesn't happen again. So, you two will be punished."

"Punished how?" Inuyasha gave her a suspicious look. There was no way in hell he was going to clean. . . .

"You will be banned from everything for one week – Inuyasha, don't give me that look. Not _everything_. Just the things like art and outdoor activity and the other things like that. But, to make up for it, you'll have extra time with the councilor – Miss Sango."

Not that bad of a punishment. Hmm, he could like this week that was to come.

"And you'll stay in your room and eat your meals there."

A little worse. He would be stuck in a cage-room' for a while, but it was worth it –being away from all those boring things? Right. . .?

"And you can't be visited by family or friends- - -"

"Sorry to break into the perfect world of yours, but no one has or ever will visit me." Inuyasha said as he gave her yet another look of pure boredom.

She shrugged, "That may change."

"Doubt it."

"Inuyasha, have you ever heard of the phrase never get fooled by the foolish?"

"Nope."

"Well, it basically means never let yourself be tricked by those who are foolish and think they can fool you." Kaede said.

"I could've guessed that myself."

"I think that Mr. Kouga might be tricking and influencing you into- - -"

"Keh! I ain't so easily fooled!" Inuyasha snorted.

"Maybe not fooled, but you're easily influenced."

Influenced? '_Keh! Old wench don't know nothing._'

"When does this punishment start?" Inuyasha haughtily asked.

"Immediately tomorrow morning and ends next Thursday morning, in one week."

"Right," the hanyou stood, turning to leave.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I had an extra large lunch because I was always late so tonight I could leave early." He said as he started to walk away.

Kaede looked at him. Searched him, ripped his soul bare and inspected it. Inuyasha growled quietly, "Inuyasha, I am not fooled. Not by the foolish."

"Fine, I'm not hungry." He stopped and turned to face the old woman.

"You're only punishing yourself." Kaede warned.

"Right, I'll take that to heart." He paused as he looked to see if she was done with her lecture – she was, "Well, I'll be going now." Inuyasha stood up and walked and started to walk over to where Miroku was sitting, laughing at a joke of some sort, at the employee table.

"I'll be sure to remind Miroku of your punishment." Kaede called.

Inuyasha abruptly turned.

'WHAT!? _What the hell did she just say!? What in hell has Miroku been keeping from me?_'

"What was that?" the livid hanyou asked through clenched teeth.

"I'll be sure that Miroku remembers what I told him earlier. I'm going to remind him of your punishment."

"Miroku _knew?_" the hanyou's voice was unnaturally calm, neutral.

"Yes, I told him a little before dinner."

"Oh. . . ." was he could mange before he turned and stormed over to Miroku.

The air around Inuyasha seemed to crackle and moan with the tenseness.

Miroku knew something was wrong right away. Inuyasha barely ever got that bloodlust type of look in his eye.

The monk quickly dumped his tray before he speed-walked over to the seething Inuyasha.

They didn't make eye-contact as they went out of the cafeteria. They didn't make eye-contact as Inuyasha told Miroku what he had on his mind.

"Why didn't you tell me?" it was a harsh, bitter whisper-y voice.

"Tell you. . . what?"

"Don't play innocent!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Oh! About the. . . um. . . thing with Kaede."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"I wasn't going to. . . uh. . . I wasn't supposed to. . ."

"So?" they stopped at the end of the hallway that led to the art room to talk, still not looking the other in the eye.

"So. . . uh. . . yeah."

"Yeah? _Yeah?_ That's all you have to say?"

". . . no. . . !" the monk paused before practically squeaking, "Yes."

"Nice having you as a friend." Inuyasha seethed before storming into the art room and slamming the door so hard, it cracked the frame slightly.

00000000

**I hate the beginning to this story. Really, I do. I can't wait until I go through and make a major overhaul. …Oh, crap. That's a lot of work on me. -.-**

**Ja ne!**


	6. Big Surprises

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and I never will. . . and I just realized how many times I'm going to be writing this. . . quite a few because this story is _far_ from over. Well, this could be a nice job for myself . . . maybe. . . I might as well glue myself here to my chair, this will be one of the longest stories ever. Great.

AN: Okay people, I've decided to answer review questions. I will post the questions and answers at the bottom.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Six: Big Surprises

00000000

"Nice having you as a friend." Inuyasha seethed before storming into the art room and slamming the door so hard, it cracked the frame slightly.

00000000

Inuyasha fumed over to an empty seat and sat down, trying his best not to slice the poor, innocent thing to a pile of scraps as he pushed himself tightly against the table.

The red-head nurse came in a only a few seconds later with a pile of white paper in her arms that was swaying slightly and threatening to topple on her.

She barely managed to plop it on her desk before turning to the arriving patients.

She looked around to estimate how many where there and how many were missing.

"Well," she cleared her throat, "there are a few people missing, but we'll start the assignment. I'll hand out this piece of paper. Everyone see it? Okay, you'll receive this piece of paper and then you'll take one of the coloring instruments – a crayon, pencil, or marker – and you'll draw."

Inuyasha slumped in his chair as he folded his arms over his torso. '_And this is supposed to help with my problem?_ _How does drawing make one better? None of it makes any sense_.' He shook his head for emphasize.

"You'll draw something that tells how you feel right now. For example, if you're happy, draw a bunny or a flower or a rainbow. If you feel sad draw raindrops or something like that. If you feel hurt because someone made fun of you. . . well, then. . . use your imagination. And if you feel sick. . . there's a bathroom down the hall."

'_How about if you feel like you've been betrayed? More importantly, how about if you feel like you've been betrayed too many times to count? Huh? What would you draw then?_'

Inuyasha, for the first time since he was here, drew what he was told he should do. . .

00000000

It was different. . . It was. . . odd. . . but it would do. . .

Inuyasha examined the drawing he made.

Yep, trash.

Quickly, he scrunched it up into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket before he grabbed another sheet of paper from the center of the table.

Inspiration. He needed inspiration.

Inuyasha looked at Jankotsu's – who once again was sitting there next to him – paper.

Eh. . . it would work. He would just personalize it a bit. Maybe, instead of DeVinci, he could make someone like. . . the piece of paper Jankotsu was using jealous?

Yes, that piece of paper would be green with envy, envy that the masterpiece he would soon concoct would not be on it's on face.

Now, there was lots of work to do in the few precious minutes left of this session. . .

00000000

Inuyasha made the final curve on his picture just as the red-head nurse started talking, "Okay, now I've looked at the pictures on this side of the room," she gestured behind her where there where a few people sitting, making a few adjustments on their paper, "now, I'll check the other side, and then you'll have five minutes to finish up."

That said, she strutted over to a random table and examined the drawings the patients had drawn, giving advice on how to draw particular things or answering questions concerning the pictures.

Inuyasha looked down at his own masterpiece. If he wasn't feeling so sane, he might have bowed down and worshiped it. . . too bad he was in his right mind.

"Oh, Inuyasha," the nurse popped out of almost nowhere saying, "What did you draw for me today?"

"I don't think this is technically your drawing." The hanyou snapped irritably.

The read-head blinked in confusion, "No, sorry. _Your_ drawing. What did _you_ draw?"

"Are you too blind to figure it out on your own?"

"Um. . . no. . . but. . . well. . . is it. . . a. . ." she turned her head in every which way to see if she could figure out what was, ". . .Oh. . .! Why. . . it's a. . . a. . . a . . .uh. . . a. . . oh, what is it?"

"It's a fish."

"A fish?"

"Yep."

Deciding not to fight this time, like she usually did, the nurse left him be and walked away – saving energy that would have gone into arguing about how a fish doesn't tell how he feels.

Inuyasha watched her go before looking back at his drawing.

It was a masterpiece, he had to admit. A beautiful oval with a nice circular dot in the middle, an eye.

Okay, it still needed some work.

Inuyasha looked at Jakotsu's drawing. The one that he got his inspiration off of. The wonderful masterpiece that had made him feel bubbly inside. Made him feel warm and fuzzy; the drawing was his new friend. And Jakotsu drew a nice, bolded, black, squiggly blob. And, he had to admit, it did seem to wave off a vibe that said Jakotsu felt all. . . bleah. Or. . . unhappy, or. . . sad, or. . . depressed, or. . . something.

Inuyasha clucked his tongue in boredom once before looking around aimlessly, trying to find something random in the room to occupy his mind with.

When he found nothing, he decided to check on how far the red-head nurse was with examining how far everyone was in their drawing.

Pretty far. She only had to check two more patient's papers; and there was only seven more minutes to this Kami-forsaken session. Then, he'd be free to run for his sanity and escape to his room. At least then he would be in company of his sane mind. Everything that went through this place always came out screwy. It wasn't all that healthy here. He knew that; and everyone else should, too.

Inuyasha clucked his tongue once in boredom before looking around the room for anything that could keep his mind occupied. A poster, a painting, anything that had colors or words.

There was nothing. On the light blue walls, there was not a single sign of anything normal humans kept up. It was a bare, bare room.

There wasn't an odd sound, either. No wind blowing, no trees rustling, only the scribbling on pencils, crayons, and markers on paper.

The kids seemed to be robots. They obeyed every command given. If someone said, "sit", they sat. If someone said, "come", they came. If someone said, "play dead", they blinked in utter confusion before falling like a log being chopped down. It's how they were taught, it's how they were expected to behave, and it was sick.

"Okay, kiddies! I'm done with looking at your pretty drawings. . ."

'_Pretty? Keh!_'

". . .and now you have about. . . oh, I'd say four minutes left. And since you were all so good, you can even converse – talk – with each other."

A girl's head shot up from her paper and her hand flew into the air.

"Oh. . . yes, Mizuki?"

"We aren't allowed to talk unless someone says we can; but not just anyone, an adult." The girl's tone of voice seemed to suggest that what the red-head nurse just said was like committing some sort of unforgivable sin.

"Yes, but I am an adult and I said you could." The nurse replied smiling sweetly.

"But you didn't say we could."

"I just did, sweetie."

"No, you didn't! You're going to get us in serious trouble! I don't like you anymore!" there were tears flooding Susie's eyes.

"Why don't you like me, honey? Talk to me about it."

The tears that had been in the little girl's eyes vanished, "I don't like you because you want to get me in trouble and you call me names!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. '_Note to self: never have kids._'

"I'm not calling you names, silly."

"There! You just did! I'm not silly or honey or sweet! I don't wanna get eaten!" the girl crossed her arms over her small chest and huffed.

Inuyasha put his cheek in the palm of his hand as his ears dropped in utmost boredom. '_Yes, no kids. And if something ever happens that I do, run for any sanity that may still be in me_.'

The nurse looked like she was trying to hold back a bad case of the giggles, "No, sweetie. . ."

"You're doing it again. . ."

". . .calling you things like that means I think you're really nice and cute. It's not bad."

"It isn't?" the girl sat up and looked at the nurse intently.

"Nope, so, can I call you sugar?"

The girl beamed, "I like you now!"

The nurse chuckled before directing her attention towards the class, "So, like I said, you can. . . talk. . . for. . ." she drifted off as she realized no one was paying attention and instead, they were blabbing to someone about some random conversation.

Inuyasha sighed in annoyance before muttering, "It's so time to go by now."

"Thanks for pointing that out, Inuyasha."

He inwardly jumped and turned to face the nurse.

"I didn't know you could hear me." He stated in an apathetic voice.

The red-head ignored his comment before turning, "The fact that it's time to leave has been pointed out by our very own Inuyasha. Can everyone say 'thank you'?"

Inuyasha stifled the sigh of exasperation as all the patients said thank-you' in unison. '_Yep, they're robots.'_

"Okay. Now, you can go if you see your escort anywhere here."

Inuyasha got up and shoved the chair back under the table before turning and leaning against it. It might be a long wait before- - -

"Yo, Inuyasho!"

Inuyasha blinked in mild surprise before turning towards the source of the voice, "You're surprisingly early, oh, and you're calling me names."

"What?" Miroku looked stunned.

"I don't like you anymore."

"Why not?" Miroku looked lost in the dark about what he was talking about.

Inuyasha's eyebrow rose. It sounded better when the kid said it.

"Nothing; nevermind. Now, could you take me somewhere else? Anywhere else? My room perhaps?"

Miroku shrugged, "Actually, you go to your room next anyway."

"I could have guessed that." Inuyasha said, vainly trying not to clench his teeth.

"Good, I guess."

Inuyasha practically dove his pajama clad body into the bed. He loved this time of day.

Freedom for. . .uh. . . I don't exactly know how long, but a while. '

He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Tracing the pattern that he could see only because of his youkai senses, he slowly eased into a deep, blissful sleep.

Yes, this was his favorite time of day.

00000000

_It was huge, monstrous. It used to scare him when he was little. He never knew if a big, hairy monster would creep out of a dark room when he wasn't looking. _

_When he was six, his father always had to remind him that he was a strong, brave hanyou and he could easily beat up any monsters that made him scared or threatened him. It was ironic, right after his father said that, every time, he felt braver. And he knew that even if he couldn't protect himself, his youkai father would, and that thought was what eventually made him realize he was being foolish, thinking their were monsters in his house. _

_As he grew, though, he grew to love his home. It always gave him comfort to wake up and smell everyone's scent so close together, it proved they were a family, it proved they were together. But it all changed so suddenly, no one knew exactly what happened. . . _

00000000

Inuyasha blinked his bright amber eyes once, to clear them of sleep that was there. He slowly pushed himself up on his bed as he looked out the window. He woke up at the time he usually did, only a few minutes before Miroku came. . . .

Only then did he remember that he wasn't allowed outside his room for anything besides going to see the. . . Sango. He shook his head. He would never call Sango a psychiatrist. She was too young to be a proper psychiatrist. She was just an assistant of one.

Suddenly, a scent flooded his sleep deprived senses that shouldn't have been there; a female scent; a scent that reminded him so much of sweet raspberries and blackberries.

A scent that belonged to an employee.

He turned his head so quickly if he was human, he would have gotten whiplash. What he saw didn't make him feel secure. Kagome was leaning against the wall, with a tray full of breakfast in her hands. She jumped slightly when he looked at her that way before return his stare full-force.

Why was she here? Miroku was his personal nurse. Something wasn't right. He had that feeling, it never led to anything good.

00000000

**-desperately trying to keep from yanking out hair and screaming- I have to go through and put in those cute little 0's to act as a time skip for every. Single. Chapter. Sayo is not happy. Sayo thinks this new system on FF (dot) net can go to hell for eating all the dashes she put in earlier to act as time skips.**

**Sayo needs some reviews?**

**Ja ne!**


	7. Asking All the Questions

Disclaimer: If I didn't own him last time, why should or would I own him this time

Disclaimer: If I didn't own him last time, why should or would I own him this time? There's no reason, is there? Nooope, there isn't. :( But should I give up on my dream of owning him? Nooope, I shouldn't. :)

AN: I just wanna say, thanks to my reviewers, this chapter is for you guys!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Seven: Asking All the Questions

00000000

He had that feeling; they never led to anything good.

00000000

Kagome didn't stop staring, and neither did Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked into Kagome's eyes. They were so blue, he bet they could put a raging tropical sea to shame.

It wasn't long before Kagome's cheeks dusted in a pink shade and she smiled brightly, "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

She swallowed. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. . . .

"Um. . . I just swung by to say I'm sorry."

"You should be! You just. . . huh?" he blinked in confusion at her.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for getting you in trouble." She smiled sadly.

"I thought Kaede said you weren't going to know about that." Inuyasha said skeptically.

"Yeah, I found out through Ayumi. She just kept on drilling in on how it wasn't that appropriate and how you two got let go too easily."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose, "Ayumi? That one nurse, right? She told you?"

Kagome swallowed before nodding, "Yeah. She wouldn't let the subject change."

Inuyasha stared at the girl, "Okay, you apologized. Will you go now?"

She swallowed, "Well, you see, as repentance. . ."

"You need repentance! You didn't do anything, wench!" he snapped as he leaned back on his bed top rest his head against the wall.

"No, not like that; I feel so bad this happened. I want to make sure you don't hate me or anything. . . . did you call me wench'?"

"I don't hate you. You're stupid to think I would hate you because of what a dimwit known as Kouga did."

Kagome cleared her throat, "Well, I didn't. . . I just felt bad that I did that. It's sorta my fault. I should have told you that you and your friend couldn't ask me anything." She made a face, "That sounds kinda rude, though. Just saying no to someone because. . ." she trailed off and shook her head as if there was a thought she didn't want to think about, "But did you call me wench?"

"What's it to ya?"

"It's not nice to call people names," she informed him.

"Uh huh, right, and I care because?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Why are you so grumpy?"

"Keh! I ain't grumpy! You're just too nice."

"You can't be too nice. It's against a code."

Inuyasha gave her a look, "What code do you go by?"

"Uh. . . the. . . code. . . for. . . uh. . .um. . . nice. . . people." She stuttered.

"Uh huh, well, girly, I suggest you go back to the happy house you came from and look for a job somewhere else. This isn't that happy of a place."

"It looks fine to me. How do you know this?" she looked him in the eye and dared him to lie.

Inuyasha tried to look somewhere else, the wall, out the window, anywhere. Here eyes seemed to possess some sort of power or something, he couldn't draw them away.

"Uh. . ." he couldn't think of words.

Realizing he must look like an idiot, he shook his head and snorted, "Keh! I've been here three months, that's how I know."

She narrowed her eyes at him, as if seeing something for the first time, "Aren't you Inuyasha Takahasha?"

He sighed in annoyance, "What's it to ya?"

"What are you doing in here? Shouldn't you be- - -"

"Keh! Hell I am, okay? I landed in here!"

Kagome blinked.

"What!" Inuyasha barked.

"Nothing, but what are you doing here? You don't belong here. . . ." her voice softened as she spoke.

"Looks like you're the only one who sees that."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Inuyasha huffed, obviously trying not to pout, "No one can see that I don't belong here. They think I'm right where I should be."

"I don't think so. I think you belong with your family, where you're probably happiest." Her eyes had sorrow from the inside out.

"Keh, whatever you may think, it's Kaede, and my parents, that have the final say in things." He folded his arms over his torso in a stubborn manner.

Kagome licked her lips before gently biting the bottom one, "That may be so, but do you know why you're here?"

Inuyasha froze and his eyes glazed over, "Sorta."

" 'Sorta'? What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," he bit out harshly, "I don't see how this is your business."

Kagome hesitated as she bit her tongue. At first it looked like she was done asking him questions and Inuyasha relaxed on his bed and closed his eyes, "My breakfast is probably clod by now." He informed her without even opening his eyes to look at her.

Kagome didn't look like she heard him, "Did you know Kouga and Naraku before you came here?"

Inuyasha sighed before he opened his amber orbs, "Not Naraku. My mother is friends with Kouga's mother. So we grew up together. But I met Naraku when I got here, he was here two months before me and Kouga arrived. So. . . why am I telling you this?"

Kagome blinked, "I asked you."

"Doesn't mean I have to answer." He snarled back.

Kagome cocked her head slightly to the side, "Yeah, you're right. You don't, but will you?"

"Only if you answer a question of mine. . . ." he tried not to snap, he really did, but this girl just kept pushing his patience, something that needed to be treated properly – meaning no one doing as Kagome was doing, bugging him.

"What?"

"Are you replacing Miroku?"

She giggled, "No! I told you, I'm just apologizing."

Inuyasha looked at her suspiciously, "How long is this apology gonna last? It's already been a half an hour."

Kagome blinked at him before gently smiling, "You seem to like to exaggerate. It's only been about fifteen minutes at the most."

Inuyasha ground his teeth, "And you seem to like to smile a lot. Anyone told you that lately?"

Kagome suddenly frowned and she thought back, "Yeah, my brother used to tell me every day."

"You're too cheerful."

"My friends told me that, too."

"You're too optimistic."

Kagome suddenly looked him straight in the eye, "And you seem to be pessimistic."

Inuyasha snorted, "Keh! That's an understatement, don't you think?"

"Do you take pride in being a grump?" Kagome crossed her arms as she mimicked Inuyasha's pose.

"Do you take pride in being an annoyance?" he emphasized un-crossing and re-crossing his arms to beat Kagome at something he didn't quite understand.

Kagome mimicked that, too, "Maybe; are you always so cheerful'?"

Inuyasha held back a pout before he once again un-crossed and re-crossed his arms, "No; why do you think I hate you so badly?"

Kagome un-crossed and re-crossed her arms, just like Inuyasha, "Because that's how I naturally am; why are you here?"

Inuyasha mimicked her this time, "That's not something you're going to find out; how did you get back here without Miroku noticing?"

She copied him again, "I asked him if I could give you your breakfast and apologize and if he could take care of my girl just for this morning; now, I'm sure you shouldn't be in this place, you're family is all famous people."

He, once again, un-crossed and re-crossed his arms, "So? That doesn't mean anything; why did Miroku say when you asked him that?"

Kagome mimicked his pose and leaned forward a little, "What do you think? He agreed; so, if you're in a famous, rich family, why aren't you in a more private center?"

Inuyasha glared menacingly before he re-did the arm crossing pose, "I told you, that's none of your business! And what were Miroku's _words_? I can tell he agreed, I'm not that stupid, wench."

Kagome also redid the now-famous pose, "He said it would be good for you to have someone different help you for once, and that maybe it would help you develop people skills; and did you just call me wench again?"

Inuyasha huffed before dropping his arms, "Yes, I did, wench; and why do you say that me calling you a wench is bad? It's true!" as if it was an after thought, Inuyasha quickly re-crossed his arms.

"Because you don't say that to people; I told you, it's not all too nice; and. . ." she stopped suddenly and searched his bright amber gaze, "and why do your eyes look like they hold a sad secret?"

He stopped suddenly with his pose and looked away, "You must be seeing things; why are we playing twenty questions." His tone was soft, almost distant.

"I don't know. . . ." she admitted as her arms dropped to her sides.

Inuyasha sat on his bed for a few seconds with his gaze locked on one tile in particular on the ground. After a few seconds, he looked up and suddenly blinked. He sat up straight and crossed his arms, "I win."

Kagome blinked, surprised, "Wha. . .? You. . . what do you mean you win'? Were we playing a game?"

"No. But I win."

Kagome gave him a look, "If we weren't playing a game, how can you win?"

"I just can." He stated simply.

Kagome sighed, "A short and sweet answer, Souta used to give me those all the time."

"Who's he?"

Kagome smiled, "Are we playing twenty questions again?"

"No, I just wanna know who Souta is."

"Why?"

"Because I do."

"Why because? Why do you care?"

"I think I heard his name before. . . ."

"He's my little brother." Kagome answered simply.

"You're brother? You have a brother?" Inuyasha's eyebrows drew up.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? My little brother is the best there is. . ."

"I'm sure he is; I just really didn't expect a perfect little girl like you to have any siblings."

"Perfect? Me? Don't try to flatter me. . . ."

"I'm, not, baka." Inuyasha barked.

"What did I tell you about calling people names?"

"Something about it being nice?"

"No," Kagome reprimanded, "it's _not_ nice."

"Oh, I'll be sure to make note of that for future reference. . ."

Kagome made a face, "Do you make jokes about everything?"

"I don't make jokes."

"Then what would you call it?" Kagome asked skeptically.

"Enlightening the mood."

"You? Enlightening _anything_?" she smiled mischievously, "Don't make me laugh."

Inuyasha frowned at the girl, "I used to enlighten a lot of things when I- - -" he cut himself off suddenly and averted his gaze.

"Yes?" Kagome prodded.

"I really think my breakfast is getting cold." Inuyasha mumbled, "And I'm hungry."

Kagome sighed, "Yeah, I suppose it is getting time for me to help my girl, too. Breakfast is over by now."

Kagome got up and walked over to the distraught hanyou, holding out his tray. He reached out and pulled it out of her grasp without even giving her a last glance as she muttered a good-bye and walked out the door.

Inuyasha pushed himself off the bed and walked over to a pile of clothes Miroku had put out last night for the hanyou to wear today. He grabbed them and shuffled back over to his bed before plopping them down on the comforter beside his breakfast. Who said he had to get dressed right away? He was stuck here and he didn't leave for Sango's until after lunch.

Inuyasha heaved a sigh of boredom before he crawled over the pile of clothes and his tray, wary not to spill it. Once he was back in his sitting position against the wall, he grabbed his tray and took a hesitant bite of his scrambled egg.

He winced as he swallowed the first bit. Yep, it was freezing cold. He hesitated on whether or not to finish his breakfast. It was cold and not as tasteful as it usually would be. And all because of that damn Kagome, he would have to suffer through this.

He suddenly stopped chewing the bite of cold toast. He just realized something.

He _enjoyed_ talking to her like he just did. That thought scared him more then anything.

00000000

**And Inuyasha starts to see that it isn't always fun to be emo. xD Eh. Emo Inu-kins is a cute Inu-kins. And he won't be staying emo. **

**Review? Oneeeeeegai?**

**Ja ne!**


	8. Day Dreams

Disclaimer: Well

Disclaimer: Well. . . I finally cracked down and admitted it out loud, I didn't write it. . . I told my friends. . . I don't own Inuyasha. But when my birthday comes around and the cake is in front of me with it's bright candles, we'll see who the owner is. :evil laugh:

AN: I love you all so much! So, so, so, so, SO much! Five. . . er . . .six reviews! I've decided that PM's count as a review.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Eight: Day Dreams

00000000

He _enjoyed_ talking to her like she was a friend. That thought scared him more than anything.

00000000

Inuyasha yawned as he looked down at his tray of half-eaten food that was on the floor. After a few minutes of thought, he decided not to eat the food.

He leaned back against the wall. He was so tired. His eyelids were so heavy. They seemed to weigh a ton.

Inuyasha sighed in weariness before he closed his eyes. He wouldn't fall asleep; he would just rest his eyes. Maybe then he wouldn't be so tired.

He relaxed against the wall as his muscles melted in bliss. He turned his head so his cheek was against the wall to add to the comfort he was already in.

'_I haven't been able to relax like this in a while. . . .It kinda feels nice._'

He could tell he was falling asleep when his eyelids gained even more weight. He snapped his eyes open. He refused to fall asleep.

He sighed as he closed his eyes. He wouldn't fall asleep. He knew he wouldn't. He couldn't. . . He was suddenly thrown into the darkness of sleep.

00000000

"_I'm sorry!" she wailed. Her sobbing didn't stop even though she apologized, "I thought this would make it easier on you! I. . .I. . .I. . ." she couldn't finish the sentence, her tears were choking her, making her voice almost useless. _

"_I really am sorry. . . ." she croaked, "You didn't tell me anything about it, I didn't think. . ." the rest of her sentence was cut off by another sob._

_He looked at her with new feeling, "Sorry, I gotta go." He turned and started to walk outside to his car when her hand grabbed his wrist. _

_He could have easily pulled away and continued on his way, but he stayed to listen to what it was she wanted._

"_No. . ." she tried to calm her sobs as she talked, "I-I thought that this would help us. . . I thought. . . ."_

"_No," he interrupted, "You weren't thinking at all, just like you said. You of all people should at least understand me by now. Sorry, I really have to go now."_

_He pulled his wrist free of her desperate grasp and walked down the front porch steps._

_She chased after him, in a last attempt to be forgiven, "I. . .will you forgive me?" she called over the banister as she leaned over it so he could hear better – though ._

_His hand that had been unlocking his door froze and he looked up at her, "You should know the answer to that by now."_

"_But. . ." she stopped and sighed miserably, "Will you at least call? Can we still be friends?"_

"_I'll think about it." He answered as he swung open the door, "But you know it's not likely to happen. Some things were meant to be." With his parting words said, he sat in his car seat and slammed the door shut. _

_He wouldn't call. . ._

00000000

Inuyasha opened his eyes. 

'_Where am I. . .?'_

The center. Right. He was here now, not home.

He rolled over to look out the window. He hadn't had any dreams like that since he had come here.

'_That wasn't my ordinary, common dream_.'

Why was he dreaming of something like that?

'_It's this damn place; I knew I wouldn't like this place_.'

No, he didn't want to come here from the start. Then again, he'd rather have been anywhere that was away from reporters and stalkers, too bad that included his home.

Inuyasha sighed as he changed positions to make himself more comfortable.

He winced when he bent a muscle the wrong way and changed his position again.

When he was satisfied, he relaxed again. Yes, it was very nice to be able to just relax for once.

Too bad Kaede didn't know that he would rather be in his room – despite the fact it felt like a cage – than do the daily activities, anyway.

And it wasn't so bad to sleep the day away for once, either.

Content with his thoughts, the hanyou sighed before he was thrust into the world of sleep.

00000000

_He had not called her. . . but she practically harassed him. She called five times a day on average. He never answered the phone and censored all his call on both his home phone and cell._

_But that didn't stop her. She was driven, and every time she called she left a seven minute message of sobs and apologies, once she even left her number in case he had lost it. _

_Still, he never called. He felt betrayed, and he was lost in the woods on what to do next. He wanted to call, wanted to rush over and tell her everything was all right, wanted to take her to her favorite restaurant for her approaching birthday. But something held him back._

_The thought that she would turn and run like she was supposed to, the fear that she was gone, out of his reach – he wasn't sure what it was that held him back._

_But something inside him – deep, deep inside him – told him that it was because it wasn't proper to see her anymore. It wasn't needed or appropriate; she didn't need him anymore. Yet, he felt he still needed her. That thought scared him most of all, he felt he needed a _female

00000000

Inuyasha blinked his amber gaze. He fell asleep again. Figures. He had always been one to sleep in when he could, and yet, he could get up at the crack of dawn if he wanted to, too. Funny, the way his internal clock worked.

He opened his mouth and gave a small yawn. He wasn't tired anymore. . . but sleep still desperately clung to him.

He gently shook his head to try and wake himself up.

Inuyasha turned his head and gazed out the window. It was about lunch. . . . Maybe Miroku would come soon; he was starved after not eating a decent breakfast.

But considering his luck lately, it wasn't likely. . . .

He stifled a sigh – something he'd been doing a lot lately.

The door suddenly swung open and Inuyasha tried not to jump out of his skin as he faced the imposter.

"Oi! You can't sneak up on me."

"I didn't sneak up on you," the voice gently answered.

"Huh. . .?" Inuyasha blanked, "What the hell are you doing here? Harassing me some more?"

"I didn't harass you," Kagome said, "And I have a good reason for being here again."

"Keh. Another apology? I don't want it."

Kagome almost visibly counted to ten as she tried to control a temper that had a history, "No. It's Miroku."

"Oh, hell, what'd he do?"

"You seem to enjoy having such a dirty mouth."

Inuyasha gave her a don't-mess-with-me' look, "Look, you going to tell me why you're here or do I have to throw you out?"

"You wouldn't do that." Kagome assured.

"Keh, shows how much you know me."

Kagome sighed before deciding to answer his question, "Miroku was ultra-super; Kaede wanted to see him."

"Maybe if I'm lucky, they'll fire him and I'll be free of him forever." Inuyasha mused.

"That's not exactly the nicest thing to say."

"Keh, I know, wench."

Kagome frowned, "That's not nice to say, either."

Inuyasha looked longingly at the tray that was safely secured in her hands, "Wench. . . this morning my breakfast was cold. . . and if that," he gestured to the tray, "turns out the same way, there will be hell to pay."

Kagome rolled her stormy eyes, "Fine, eat now." She said as she offered him the tray in her outstretched hand.

"Keh." He snatched the tray and shoveled some pasta into his open mouth.

"Think you could slow it down a bit? You're going to chock, and when you do, please don't blame me."

"Kweh." Inuyasha mumbled through a bite of noodles.

Kagome wrinkled her nose, "Uh. . . could you maybe talk when you've _swallowed_ your food?"

"I fwould, but fwat's the fun in vwat?" he swallowed, "None, right?"

Kagome looked repulsed, "Ah, no, believe me. It's much better to try and talk with an empty mouth then one stuffed to the brim with food."

"Shwows wow mwuch you know. . . ." he mumbled as he stuffed huge and unhealthy amounts of rice in his mouth.

"Ugh. . .Where did you learn your table manners?"

"What manners?"

Kagome made a face, "You've never heard of table manners?"

"There's no table, wench." Inuyasha remarked.

"I'll take that as a no'."

"Keh."

Kagome blinked in surprise, "You're done already?"

"Told ya wench, my breakfast was cold."

Kagome narrowed her eyes very slightly, "I think you're in a better mood and a bit more people friendly when you're eating."

"So do I. . . . Wish it was dinner."

"Yeah, at least then you'd be in a better mood." Kagome mumbled.

"You don't like it? Then leave!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Yes, you're in a much better mood when you're eating."

"Keh!"

Kagome's lips twitched in a smile, "You like that word, don't you?"

"What word?"

"Keh!" Kagome said, making a fairly good imitation of Inuyasha.

The hanyou glared, "Oi, wench! You can't mimic me!"

"Says who?" Kagome challenged.

"Says me!" Inuyasha roared.

"You can't control me."

"Says who, wench?"

Kagome placed her index finger on her chin as she pretended to think, "Hmm. . . I'm pretty sure there's some sort of Right somewhere that says every person has a free will."

"It was meant for males."

"Says who?" Kagome shot back.

"Says me, the great and powerful. . . me."

"Oh. . . I feel so intimidated." She drawled.

"Keh." He mumbled with no better come back.

Kagome giggled, "You know, this is sort of. . .fun."

Inuyasha snorted, "Like bloody hell it is."

"Now you're using bloody', too? Is there no end to your sense of humor?"

"What humor?" Inuyasha asked.

"Forget it. No matter what I say, you won't listen, right?" Kagome teased.

"Keh. . . ." Inuyasha sighed in exasperation.

Kagome giggled so hard, she fell against the wall.

"Clumsy wench; I'll have to remember that – clumsy wench."

Kagome stopped giggling to look at him, "What did I tell you about calling people names!"

"Not nice?" Inuyasha guessed.

"Wow! For once the great and mighty you can remember something." Kagome said as she faked surprise.

Inuyasha rolled his bright amber eyes before snapping back, "I don't forget _everything_; just the things that I don't find important."

Kagome grinned, "Right. Well, Mr. Important, I've had fun. But I really have to go. It's getting late. Can you believe it's been a half-an-hour already?"

"That's it?" Inuyasha replied feigning utter shock, "I could have sworn it was at least double that."

Kagome bit back a giggle as she grabbed the two trays that had been placed by Inuyasha's bed, "Bye, oh! You better change out of those. It's well into the day now." Kagome gestured toward his pajamas.

Inuyasha growled as she shut the door and for a few minutes after she had left.

'_Whatever_.'

Inuyasha decided to take the nurse's advice to heart and as soon as he calmed down, he changed into loose pants and a crimson shirt.

As he threw his dirty clothes in a corner, he examined his messy bed. With a sigh, he smoothed the wrinkled pillow and re-made the bed.

Content that if anyone else decided to pop in, they wouldn't chew off his ear about living in a pig sty, Inuyasha flopped onto the made bed on his back with his arms folded under his head as he stared at the ceiling.

'_I hate her. . .' _ his mind echoed, '_I hate her, hate her, hate her. . ._'

Inuyasha rolled his head so his cheek was lying on his forearm.

'_I hate her, hate her, hate. . .her. . .hate. . .her. . . Won't. . . fall. . . 'sleep. . .'_

He was unconscious in a world of sleep in minutes.

00000000

**Blerg. Story must die. Seriously. I'm getting tired of editing it and rewriting the crappy parts. **

**-puts an ad in the paper for adoption of A Dark Past- **

**Hm. I don't think anyone would want it, though…**

**Ja ne! **


	9. A Way with Words

Disclaimer: Hmmm

Disclaimer: Hmmm. . . if any of you aren't yet sure that no one besides Rumiko has the free pass to Inuyasha's ears and looking/touching everything else he may have – Tetsusaiga, amber eyes, claws, etc.– than I think you might just have to look at the nearest Inuyasha comic book to see who's name is on the cover. . . .

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Nine: A Way with Words

00000000

He was unconscious in a world of sleep in minutes.

00000000

"Inuyasha." Hands gently but firmly shook the sleeping hanyou.

"Mmm. . ." Inuyasha mumbled but remained unmoved.

"Inuyasha." Shaking the hanyou harder, the voice came a little louder this time.

"Mmhmm. . ." Inuyasha murmured.

"Inuyasha. . .! " Shaking the poor boy on the bed so hard it made it appear he was having seizers, the voice this time was almost a yell.

"Ehhh. . ." In reply, Inuyasha shifted and uncovered a hand that had been under his pillow. Almost in a blur, the hand came up and whapped the person on the nose.

Miroku stumbled back cradling the offended appendage in his hands.

After a few minutes of rubbing, his nose was no longer in pain but numb and the monk decided to come in a different direction.

"Fine then," he mumbled.

He briskly walked into the bathroom before coming back with a twp-once cup – used for brushing teeth – filled with freezing cold water.

The monk hesitated, his hand hovering over Inuyasha's face. Was it really fair. . .? Faster than a heart could beat, the water was promptly poured into the soft, fuzzy, and _sensitive_ ears that belonged to the hanyou.

Inuyasha's head shot up, his eyes flared open and he started to wildly shake his head as tiny droplets of water flew out of his irritated ears.

"What the _hell_! Miroku, why'd you do something so stupid as that!" Inuyasha demanded the moment he stopped trying to clear his ears of the offending water.

"You wouldn't wake up."

"What's with the water!" 

"What? Would you rather have sake?" Miroku asked innocently. "Or some nice, hot coffee?"

"Or maybe some monk on a plate." Inuyasha ground out.

Miroku looked thoughtful, "Don't know exactly how you could make me into liquid. . . or on the other hand, let me rephrase that: I don't want to _know_ how you'd make me into liquid."

"Is there an off button on you?" Inuyasha randomly poked Miroku somewhere to find out.

"Oof, hey, that hurt." Miroku grumbled as he rubbed his stomach.

"Let me try here." Inuyasha stood up and poked his nurse in the eye.

"Ow – Inuyasha! What was that all about!"

The monk slumped into the wrinkly-but-none-the-less-made bed that Inuyasha had been laying on a few moments ago and started to rub his eye that was starting to grow a bit red.

Yay, he found it.

"Here's your dinner." Miroku practically threw the tray on his small table by the door as he hastily yanked out his keys and unlocked the heavy door blocking the exit. "And please enjoy it, I'll be back. I have to make sure you didn't rip out anything with those monstrous claws of yours. . . oh! And then you get to visit Sango." With that, the door swung shut and Miroku fled.

Inuyasha stared at the door for a few seconds. Wimp. He'd barely touched that eye, it was more a brush than a poke.

Might as well take advantage of the. . . only kami-sama knows how long it would be. . . til Miroku came on bustling to take him to the psycho-atrist.

In a matter of. . . seconds, Inuyasha had a healthy meal in his stomach and he was resting on his bed gazing at the ceiling, mentally counting the seconds.

00000000

"A hundred percent?"

"Yes, it barely scratched the surface."

"You said a moment ago there was nothing wrong!"

"There isn't!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"How do I know you're not trying to trick me and steal something from me?"

"What do you have on you?" the nurse mused.

Miroku gave her a look, "A patient."

"I know, we've met and already got acquainted, remember?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah. . ." he paused as he looked at the ground before shooting his gaze up so quick, Kagome had to wonder if he'd given himself whiplash, "A hundred percent sure?"

"Yes, Miroku." Kagome said in exasperation, "There is not one thing wrong with that eye."

"There might be a deadly disease going in as we speak!" Miroku cried.

"If there was, it wouldn't already be white again, now would it?"

Miroku blinked, "It is?"

"Duh."

"I want proof." Miroku stated as he held out his hand expectantly.

Kagome rolled her eyes but reached in her pocket and pulled out a small black rectangle. She looked at it – probably to make sure it was what she was looking for – before she held out her hand.

Miroku cautiously took it and rolling it over in his hands. "What is it?"

"Oh for goodness sakes!" Kagome didn't even take it from him but popped it open with him still holding it. A mirror. . .

"Oh. . ."

Kagome rolled her eyes. Guys could never be depended on, could they. . .?

"Is this for make-up?"

Kagome rolled her eyes again before answering, "Yeah, but I don't use make-up. It's for emergencies."

"Like now? Wow, you're dependant."

"No, emergencies. Like, when someone eye is falling out, or someone won't get a shot unless they can see where the needle's going."

Miroku's face lit with realization before darkening when he realized what she said was kind of an insult. . . .

"I'm not a baby." Miroku casually stated as he pulled up his eyelid to get a better look at his eye.

"I never said you where, but thanks for making it clear."

Miroku snapped the mirror shut and extended his hand, "I have a patient to look after."

"Fine with me."

Miroku turned and took about ten steps before he turned, "Patient's ward – this way." He mumbled as he passed Kagome again.

"And hello again to you, too."

Miroku smiled – saying he meant to go that way and took another step, before accidentally forgetting to lift his foot and missing a step, causing him to topple over.

Kagome sighed as she walked over to examine his new damage.

00000000

'_Three thousand two hundred and fifty-six, three thousand two hundred and fifty-seven. . ._'

Inuyasha rolled over to look out the window. '_Three thousand two hundred and fifty-eight. . .'_

How long would it be?

'_Three thousand two hundred and fifty-nine. . .'_

Long, he could have his fiftieth birthday in here and that damn monk would still be whining about his eye.

'_Three thousand two hundred and sixty. . .'_

He suddenly bolted up into a sitting position when he heard the door opening. Finally! He was. . . not there.

"What's up?"

"The sky, but I can't see that; so I guess it's the ceiling."

Kagome tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Ready to go?"

Inuyasha glared " Go where?"

"To Miss Sango's."

"Where's Miroku?"

"Oh, he fell."

Inuyasha stood up. "Fell? What's with that excuse?"

"He claims he broke his foot."

"Did he?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I'm pretty sure he just bruised it if he even hurt it."

"Oh. . ."

Kagome shifted her weight so she was putting most of the pressure on her right leg before continuing, "It might be a while before Miroku is good to go, so I'll be taking you to Sango's."

Inuyasha sighed before walking over to the door the nurse had opened for him.

They walked in silence for a few seconds before Kagome broke out into a smile, "So, what do ya do with Sango?"

Inuyasha resisted the temptation to give her a dirty look. He didn't like the way that was worded. . . .

"Nothing," he replied after a moment apathetically.

"Nothing? She has to do something – she's a psychiatrist! It's her job to help you."

"She may try to help me, but it ain't working."

Kagome nodded in understanding, "So it seems that she's doing nothing,. But really she can't understand you."

"Yeah, that's exactly it!" Inuyasha cried.

There was a moments pause before he suddenly stopped and looked at Kagome with a weird, scrunched up face.

"What?"

"How'd you do that?" Inuyasha cautiously asked.

"Do. . . what?" she asked just as hesitantly.

"How'd you figure it out without knowing much about me?"

"Um. . . talent?"

Inuyasha scowled, "Whatever."

He marched off in a sulk. Kagome blinked before sprinting to catch up with him.

Turn after turn, corner after corner. The walk seemed to take an eternity – but alas, like any voyage, this one ended no differently and before he knew it, he was standing in front of the door leading to Sango's wacky-ward.

"So. . . are you going to sit here and admire the door or are you going to go on inside and get cracking on solving your mystery?"

"Keh!" he shoved the door open and stormed in - but not before sticking his tongue out at Kagome in an immature way.

The door closed without him even touching it – due to its weight – and Inuyasha looked to see Sango put down her pen she had been using to fill some papers and smiled up at the hanyou, "So, how've you been?"

Inuyasha nodded – not really answering her question – before walking over and plopping himself in an overstuffed chair.

"Yes? You're doing yes? Does that mean good?" Sango asked as she stood up to get closer to her patient.

"Whatever."

"You seem to have a way with words." Sango said as she sat down across from him and crossed her legs.

"You seem to have a way with getting on people's nerves." He replied simply.

"Yeah. . . kinda guessed that after our first session. . . but it was worth it. I discovered you were depressed."

Inuyasha slapped his forehead before leaning back in his seat in exasperation, "Forget it. . ." he mumbled.

"Okay, so what are we going to do about your problem? I know! We can play a game." Sango seemed proud of herself for suggesting it.

"What type of game?" Inuyasha questioned uncertainly.

"Here's how it goes: I'll say something like. . . what I used to do with my family – play board games, video games, physical games, or whatever – and then you'll tell me what you did based on that topic." She beamed – obviously pleased with the thought that it would work.

Too bad it wouldn't. . .

"Okay, usually, on vacation, I went to the beach with my family. What did you do?" Sango asked as her serious-down-to-earth face appeared.

"Never went on vacation – my mom gets sunburned too easily."

"Oh. . .um. . . I have a mother, father and a little brother. . . oh! And a cat."

"Mother, father, brother."

"Oh. . . um. . . my cat's name is Kirara, she's a youkai, my brother loves to learn about youkai exterminating. . . actually, my whole family does. My mother is getting sick a lot lately, my father is getting old but still strong and I'm a big support to them all. My family always stick together. . . it really helps."

Inuyasha blinked, "My mother's famous, my father's famous, my brother's famous and I'm famous – was."

Maybe this wouldn't work. . .

"Uh. . . when I was little all I wanted to be was a nurse. But it was frowned upon in my family. . . kinda."

"Became what I wanted to be."

No, it wouldn't work. . . .

"I. . . went to six different schools – then I was accepted as an apprentice here by Mr. Dai."

"Home schooled." Inuyasha answered simply.

"Erm. . ."

She was befuddled at what to say next when everything she did backfired.

"I was never depressed in my life." She accidentally said. The minute the last syllable left her mouth, she mentally berated herself.

There was a pause and Sango was seriously considering saying something else, but Inuyasha looked her in the eye and replied, "Neither am I."

00000000

"So, you're sure?"

"Yes."

"Hundred percent?" 

"Two hundred percent."

Miroku hesitated, that was really certain, "Three hundred percent?"

Kagome gently smiled, "Yes, it's barely bruised let alone broken."

Miroku weighed the chances of his foot – which he was standing on – being broken. He looked down at it. It wasn't bent or anything, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"You're sure?"

Kagome smiled before replying, "Yes." Her voice was calm, neutral. For the past hour, he'd been going at it like this.

"Well, okay." He turned and took one step before whirling around. "You sure you don't need x-rays?"

Kagome ran her top teeth over her bottom lip. "Yes."

"O. . .kay." he turned and walked out the door.

Kagome flopped down in her chair and rubbed her forehead. Miroku could be annoying at times. . . .

"Oh, Kagome."

"No, it's not broken." Kagome called to the person in exasperation.

Miroku blinked, "Actually, I wasn't going to ask."

"Okay then, continue."

"You know how you've been really taking care of Inuyasha?"

"Yeah. . ."

Kagome didn't like the way this was going.

00000000

**No comment. I'm still ready to shred something – still sick of editing, foo'!**

**Well, at least I have my music to keep me company. **

**Ja ne.**


	10. Promise Made

Disclaimer: So, you still don't understand I don't own Inu an' co

Disclaimer: So, you still don't understand I don't own Inu an' co.? Then there must be something seriously wrong with you. Anyone want to know the "amazing" details of how Inuyasha actually belongs to Rumiko Takahashi than I implore you to e-mail me.

AN: Well, you may have noticed, this story's summary is changing every few minutes, Why? Because I write it, come back five minutes later, read over it, make a face, delete it, and then rewrite it. Seriously, I can't make a summary.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango:18  
Keade:65

A Dark Past

Chapter Ten: Promise Made

00000000

Kagome didn't like the way this was going.

00000000

Miroku shifted his weight to his right foot. "Well, I have to go see someone. . . sick. . . in the hospital. . . on the other side of town."

Kagome gave him a look. "What?"

"Yeah. . . my mother has. . . the bird flu."

"Oh. . . .Why exactly are you telling me this?" She glared suspiciously. "Is this some gentle way of telling me I've caught it, too?"

Miroku shook his head as he made a face. "No! How would I even get blood test results for something like that?"

She crossed her eyes in reply. "For all I know, you could be a stalker – from what I've heard, you're a pervert."

"Where did you – nevermind." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Back on track. I know what I'm about to ask might be a bit tough on you, but I have to see my. . . mother. She's. . . in critical condition. She may die."

"O. . .kay." Kagome sounded unsure.

"So, I want to be there. If she. . . dies, I want to be there. Even though I have my own dirty karma, I want to be a good loving son to my. . . dieing mother."

Kagome eyed him before cautiously replying, "Go on. . . ."

"So – and I hate to ask – but because you've already comfortable with him. . ."

Kagome's eyes widened. "No!"

"Why not?"

"I have my own patient you now! She needs loving care and concern, too. She needs to have me there to watch, guide and help. She relies on me!"

"Just a few days?" Miroku pleaded. "I really need to see her and I need someone to care for Inuyasha."

"But. . ." Kagome rapidly thought of all the reasons why she should decline, but they all seemed like excuses and she started to feel a bit guilty. "I-I can't. I have someone else I need to help."

"You'll barely have to do anything, though. All you need to do is give him his meals. He doesn't require any company."

Kagome was about to reject when his words sunk in and she felt a flare of anger.

"You know what? With people like you taking care of him, I'm not surprised he's so anti-social. You treat him like a trophy! You dust it off every now and then, take care of it, make sure it doesn't brake or anything, but never admire or give it special attention. I'd be bitter, too if my friends treated me like that!"

Miroku rushed to his defense, "Whoa! I didn't mean it that way. I do treat him properly. I meant, for a few days while I'm gone, I'm sure you can take care of him without much thought."

Kagome didn't look convinced. "The reason why each patient is assigned a personal nurse is because they need- - -"

"Isn't it because there aren't that many patients – what forty-five or so? – and so, to save time and things, they have one nurse take care of one patient and rarely two? So then that one nurse kinda baby-sits the patient all day to keep them out of trouble?"

Kagome continued after hearing what he said like he never interrupted in the first place. "Special care and to feel loved. If a child or teenager grows up without feeling needed, they grow very anti-social and uncomfortable in public places or community get-togethers."

"I knew that."

Kagome sighed. "Whatever."

Miroku paused before continuing the conversation. "So, you'll take care of Inuyasha?"

Kagome slapped her forehead in exasperation. "Fine. I give up. Yes. But this is the last time. Miss Kaede is already mad at him for what he and his friend did – even though it wasn't really anything bad – and if I continue this, I'll get him deeper into the hole that's been dug for a grave."

Miroku beamed. "You'll do it? Great! I really owe you one."

"Yeah, you do," Kagome muttered sarcastically.

"What?" Miroku frowned.

"I said no problem. I guess I could also try t get him to come out of the shell he's put himself in, too."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll be leaving in the morning, so I guess that gives you some time to tell. . . who are you talking care of, anyway?"

"Why should I tell you?" Kagome shot back.

"Whoa. I meant no offense. You merely talk so highly of her."

"Uh-huh. Well, I have to go now. And I think it's almost time to go and retrieve Inuyasha. Only ten more minutes of his session with Sango left."

"Wait!" Kagome called before Miroku was able to walk off in the opposite direction.

"Yeah?" he turned to face her but took a few more slow steps backward.

"How many days are we talkin' about here?" She sounded suspicious – and she had every right to be.

"Only four. I don't think this requires five, do you?" His face scrunched in thought.

"Four? Why four? Why _five_?"

"It's my mother!" he protested.

"Yes, your mother. But she's not dead yet!"

"So, she may be dieing! I want to make it easier o her in her. . . last. . . few hours."

Before Kagome could reply or complain some more, Miroku turned the corner and took off in the direction it led.

"He's highly annoying. I would poke him, too, if he took care of me. . . ." Kagome mumbled before wheeling and walking to see her patient – she deserved to know what was going on, at least.

00000000

"Okay, we only have a few more minutes; we'll have one more round." Sango said in distress. She'd been at it almost all session and she hadn't been able to get anything out of him other than what she already knew.

Inuyasha grunted.

"I. . . have a crush. It may be love." Sango seemed desperate now.

"Nice."

"You didn't take your turn," she pointed out.

"Not in love."

"Uh. . . it's my first crush."

"Nice."

"Inuyasha, the least you could do is grace me with some answers."

"Okay."

"Starting now. You could answer what I just asked."

"You didn't ask anything." He seemed cocky.

"Fine then, I'll ask it in question form: Did you- - -"

She was cut off by a knocking at the door.

"Uh. . . who is it?"

"Miroku, just thought I'd drop by to tell you that it's time for dear Inuyasha to come back." Miroku's voice sounded muffled.

"Oh. . . okay, well, we'll continue this next time."

"Shut up." He muttered before yanking the door open so quickly, Miroku, who had been leaning on it, nearly fell.

"Hey, you could have caused me to break my leg! What would have happened if- - - "

"Do you ever shut up?" Inuyasha snapped, "I'm tired, take me back now."

"Getting demanding, aren't you?"

"Shut up! Or I'll run away!" to emphasize his point, he started to walk off to the left – too bad it was in the direction of his room.

"Oh, didn't know you were so into getting back into your room. . ."

Inuyasha totally ignored him and continued on.

Miroku sighed before taking the hint and following him.

00000000

"So, you're all ready for the Z's?"

"So, you're all ready to finally let me wail you into next year?" Inuyasha retorted.

"Well, no."

"Then get the hell out of here before I really lose it." Inuyasha ground out.

Miroku sighed before turning and unlocking the door. Right before he was totally out of sight however, he mumbled over his shoulder, "I'm going away for a few days." He then left, not even taking the time to see if the hanyou heard.

00000000

Inuyasha sunk onto his soft bed. Fatigue overwhelmed him and he felt like he could go into hibernation for three months and wake up still tired.

He sighed before rolling over to look out the window like he always did. The moon seemed to clam him. In only a few days it would be dark. . . the new moon.

The night of the new moon. . . he never liked it. Not even as a kid – actually, especially as a kid. The new moon was better. Always better. . .

His thoughts slowly dispersed as he closed his eyes and melted into the darkness of sleep.

00000000

The first thing that he gained as he slowly regained consciousness was the ability to smell. A sweet scent filled the air and he was succumbed by it for a few seconds before he realized where he was and regained his senses.

Right away his eyes snapped open and he was in an upright position in half a second.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" he snapped to his intruder.

Kagome blinked. "Middle of the. . . night?"

"Don't play stupid!" he barked.

"It's nine-thirty!"

"Still, what are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Didn't he tell you?" she asked skeptically.

"He? He who?"

"Miroku." Kagome looked like she was suppressing a giggle at his confused face.

"Tell me what?"

"That he was leaving a few days," Kagome gently informed him.

"He told me – what of it?"

Kagome paused to give him time to put two and two together before continuing, "So. . . it means, that I'll be taking care of you while he's away."

"Oh _hell_, no!"

00000000

**I know not much happened in this chapter, but oh well. There's more coming soon in the next chapter, anyway. So, did you like this one, though? I hope so. The more you review, the faster I update. **

**Well, Ja ne!**


	11. The One Question Game

Disclaimer: Okay, I've decided that in my hyper state, I would sing the disclaimer

Disclaimer: Okay, I've decided that in my hyper state, I would sing the disclaimer. Ready? Ah-one, ah-two, ah-shed-a-li-di-da-le-doo(forgive the spelling): Who's the owner of Inuyasha? (Who? Who?) Who's his owner, oh me. (Who, who, who?) Who's the owner of Inuyasha? Who, oh, who, indeed? Her name is R-U-M-I-K-O! Yes! She's the owner of Inu. (Inu) She's the owner of Inu, and I envy her so, so. (So, so, so)

AN: ;; Please ignore the weirdness in my disclaimer. I was on a sugar high when I wrote it and I'm too lazy to change it.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Eleven: The One Question Game

00000000

"Oh, _hell_, no!"

00000000

Kagome felt crappy. Worse than crappy. She was tired. But, putting on the most real looking and cheerful smile she could, she walked on over to the horrified hanyou and extended her hand so he could take his tray.

Instead, however, his expression hardened and he narrowed his eyes in a vicious glare, "I still want to know _exactly_ why you're here."

Kagome's wrist snapped back so fast, some of the juice in the cup sloshed onto the softly carpeted floor.

"I told you! I here to take care of you- - -"

"While Miroku's away. Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah to you, too. But details. Where is Miroku?"

"He had urgent business, so he turned to me to take care of you while he went away for a short time."

Inuyasha's eyes glazed with suspicion, "How long is this short time'? Where is his business? _What _is his business? If it doesn't have to do with a girl, than I don't think it's that important to him."

Kagome looked like she was having trouble keeping back a smirk at that comment, "What makes you think that?"

"I know how his mind works. . . ." he folded his arms behind his head and let his eyes droop in a lazy fashion.

"Is that so?" her bright blue eyes twinkled with mischief as she sat at the foot of the bed – his breakfast tray on a nearby stand seemingly forgotten.

Inuyasha didn't even bat an eye at the added pressure near his feet, "Yep."

"You sure. . .?" Kagome smirked at her own devious plan of annoying the hanyou.

"Yeah. . . actually, I think so. . . I know he groped every nurse at least once."

Kagome did her best to keep from doing from doing what was called the face fault'.

"He didn't grope me. . .!"

Inuyasha merely shrugged indifferently, "He gives the new nurse and female employees at least a week to adjust before he attacks."

"Great," Kagome groaned, "Now I'll be watching my back and looking over my shoulder every tem seconds."

"Didn't I just say that he won't strike for a while?"

"And what happens when that while' is over? What happens next week?"

Inuyasha finally opened his bright amber gaze to look her in the eye, "He won't do anything serious – I already told you that. He'll wait awhile."

"Oh. . ." she practically squeaked, "Now I feel better. In only a few days I could have a stalker."

"Then again," Inuyasha mused, "he only does it to _pretty_ girls."

"E-ex_cuse me_? You can't believe I'm that unattractive!"

"Mm, maybe."

Kagome swallowed the insult that was burning her throat when she saw the playful glint in his eyes.

"Uh-huh, and I suppose you're not ugly."

"Wh-what? Ugly! Keh! Shows what you know. Girls kill for this face."

Kagome snorted, "Really now?"

"Yep."

"Mm-hmm. Keep dreaming, dog-boy."

"A _dog_-boy? That's the worst you can come up with?"

"Either that or lowlife." Kagome blinked innocently.

". . .You suck at name-calling, anyone ever tell you that?"

"Nah, no one really cared."

"Nice. . . any chance I could get you to. . . maybe go away?"

"Ha! Nice try. I'm not that easy to get rid of."

Inuyasha's response was a groan, "How long are you going to torture my poor ears?"

"Long enough. . . Hey, Inuyasha?"

"Wha?"

"If- if you don't mind, I'd like to know something."

"What?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Inuyasha groaned again, "You just did."

"Another."

"Whatever."

"What. . . exactly. . ." she stopped, hesitated, thought the question over, and began again, "Why are. . . you here?"

"Not a subject to be touched." Inuyasha snipped bitterly.

"Of course, I totally respect that!"

"Keh. . . it's not even _my _fault. . . ."

"What? What isn't your fault?" Kagome murmured back.

"_She _did it. It's _her_ fault."

"Who?"

"Keh. . . a friend, you could say."

"A. . . female. . . friend?"

"Yeah." His answer was so quiet, Kagome had to lean forward to catch it.

"Was she pretty?"

"I guess."

"Was she smart?'

"Not too much."

"What did she look like?"

Inuyasha turned to look at her, "Didn't I tell you that it was an untouchable subject?"

"Can I at least ask you something and get a truthful answer?"

His glare was one of suspicion.

"One question, one answer." Kagome promised.

"One."

"Okay, did. . . did this girl. . . um. . . well, okay. Can you tell me, when you trust me, what happened?"

". . .Yeah, sure."

Kagome bounced excitedly, "Do you trust me now? Enough to tell me?"

"One question, wench." Inuyasha teased.

"But. . . but. . ." Kagome opened and closed her mouth, much resembling a fish.

"I already answered one question, isn't that what you promised?"

Kagome suddenly slammed her jaw shut, and Inuyasha could practically see the light bulb blinking above her head.

"What?"

"Okay, we'll play your game."

"What game?" Something in her head must have broken. . .

"Every time I bring your meal, you answer a question. One question."

"What! I won't do something so stupid as that!"

"Or else." Kagome continued, ignoring his rants.

"Or else what?"

"Or else you won't get your meals."

"Keh! That's abuse, wench."

"And I'll let you call me names."

"What do you mean names?' "

"Exactly what I said, you can call me. . . wench."

"Keh! I'll call you whatever I want with or without your approval."

"Than no meals. You'll starve."

"Fine!" Inuyasha barked, "One question. One!"

"I knew you'd see it my way." Kagome sounded like a purring, content cat as she stood up.

"What way' are you talking about?"

"Let's change the subject: did you know I've been here for half-an-hour?"

". . .That was it? That's all the time you've been here? I could've sworn it was longer."

"Time to go." Kagome waved as she left and shut the door.

As she walked down the halls to the cafeteria, she smiled a genuine smile.

'_He cheered me up. I felt crappy, and he made me better._'

It seemed true, a luster loomed around her and she felt she could fly to the moon and back.

'_He's different, but maybe we could be friends. Maybe. And maybe he'd trust me enough to tell me more about what happened. I don't want him hurting like that._'

"I find myself _wanting_ to know him. Weird. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea, Miroku. . ." Kagome softly muttered as she entered the noisy cafeteria.

Maybe. . . and maybe not.

'_Maybe I could bring something fun for him to do sometime, too._'

Maybe.

He probably wouldn't appreciate it, but she felt it was the right thing to do.

00000000

**Sorry, it's short. I know it is. But it's better than nothing, right? **

**Ja ne!**


	12. Chance Encounter

Disclaimer: If you want a disclaimer, then go back and read the last one

Disclaimer: If you want a disclaimer, then go back and read the last one. I'm not in the mood. We all know I don't own him.

AN: Another day, another chapter. Can I get a w00t w00t?

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twelve: Chance Encounter

00000000

He probably wouldn't appreciate it, but she felt it was the right thing to do.

00000000

There was a bounce in Kagome's step when she opened the door and walked in with another tray to give to Inuyasha. She was the bearer good news!

The hanyou was lying on his bed with his arms folded under his head.

"Hey."

Inuyasha made no move to reply to the cheerful voice.

"I got _really_ good news." Kagome beamed.

There was a slight pause before he answered, "Miroku finally died. . .?"

"NO!" Kagome gasped, "That's no good news."

"Says you," Inuyasha mumbled.

"Did you like going outside? I mean before you came here?"

"Yeah. . . Where you goin' with this?"

Kagome didn't answer but grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. He could have easily stopped her with his demonic strength and go back, so she was surprised when he didn't struggle.

She had unlocked and opened the door to the hallway when he decided to speak up, "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere. . . "

Inuyasha arched and eyebrow but didn't further question her.

She had walked through the hall around the cafeteria and to the front of the building. After only about a minute they had come to the main entrance.

"It's a really nice day."

"Hey, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Kagome smiled at him, "We're going outside for a few hours. I can even grab you a lunch from a fast-food restaurant."

She continued on and trekked out the doors into the warm atmosphere, "I guess you get used to air-conditioning." She murmured.

"How come you can suddenly take me outside? Doesn't the old hag know about this?"

"Yes, and you shouldn't call her 'old hag.' That's worse than 'wench.' "

"Keh, says you, wench."

Kagome sighed, exasperated, "Let's go. My car is over here."

"Car?"

"Yeah, we're going outside; why not a car?"

"We're leaving? Leaving here?"

"Yeah," Kagome answered slowly.

He seems a bit shocked but tried to hide it, "K-keh, whatever."

She smiled and pulled out her keys to click a button, making the car beep as it unlocked, "Get in."

Inuyasha complied and opened the door to the red Lamborghini.

"How long have you hade this car?"

Kagome paused a moment, the key hovering right next to the ignition, "Only a few months. It was a graduation present from my family."

"Oh."

There was a silence as she started the car, backed out, and smoothly exited the parking lot.

"My brother can't wait to graduate now. He says he wants a limousine when he graduates," she smiled slightly, "He's so little. I remember when I was as young as him."

"As young as him? How much older are you?"

"I'm six years his elder," she answered, readjusting the rear-view mirror.

'_Six years? Wow. . ._'

"So where are we going?"

"I won't answer that until we get there. It's surprise."

Inuyasha mentally groaned.

"Well, we're almost there, so there's no reason to look so beaten." Kagome giggled.

"I don't' look beaten." Inuyasha huffed.

"Says the moping dog."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes before turning to look out his window, "Whatever."

"I win," Kagome whispered to herself. Inuyasha, ears as sharp as ever whirled to face her.

"You win what?"

Kagome's face was puzzled and she shrugged, "I don't know, I just feel that I won something."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and once again fixed his gaze on the window, "Stupid wench."

"Hey," Kagome bit out, "I said you could call me 'wench' not 'stupid.' "

"Merely stating the facts."

Kagome sighed before pulling on her turning signal. After the traffic turned to her favor, she turned the steering wheel and continued down the rocky path.

"Where are we."

"You'll see."

As she reached the end, she turned into a parking spot and shut off the car.

"There," she sighed.

"You took me to a- we're at a- what the-?"

"Don't even think about trying to steal my car and go back," Kagome eyed him warningly.

"A- a _park_?"

"Not a park. There's going to be a small carnival on the other side."

"A carnival? A _carnival_? What goes on inside women's heads?"

Kagome smiled and opened her door, "Come on, let's go get our tickets." She stood up and Inuyasha rolled his eyes one final time before doing the same.

Kagome looked around to adjust to her settings before happily stating, "I think it's over there." She didn't wait for a reply, but walked off. Inuyasha followed, much resembling a lap-dog.

When they reached the wooden gate that separated the low-cut grass field and the par, it was obvious something was about with all the amusement rides and stands.

"You're kidding me." Inuyasha sighed in exasperation.

"This will be fun!" Kagome restrained herself from jumping up and down with excitement.

'_She's enjoying this. Thoroughly enjoying this, She seems. . . different. . . from __her._'

"Look!" Kagome squealed, "They have games and cotton candy." She clapped her hands in excitement before grabbing Inuyasha and tugging him after her.

She briefly stopped at a small booth and purchased two wrist bands, "Here, put this on."

Inuyasha looked down at the paper, "You're kidding, right?"

"No, you need it on to go in."

"Then I ain't going in," Inuyasha shoved her hand away.

Kagome paused before taking the wristband apart and smiling, "Hey, why don't we get a cotton candy?"

Inuyasha eyed her before replying, "Okay."

"You can go first."

Suspicious, he slowly started forward. He had barely taken two steps when Kagome was behind him when she leapt and hurriedly wrapped the paper around his wrist, 'There we go."

The hanyou was momentarily struck shocked, "You- you- I'm ripping this thing off."

"No!" Kagome grabbed his hand, "Please don't, what does it matter? It's already on."

"It's girly," he retorted.

"Everyone has to wear them."

Inuyasha grumbled before he mumbled, "Fine."

Kagome beamed, "Now let's go get that cotton candy."

She bounced away like a five-year-old and Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk at her antics.

'_This _might _be fun._'

00000000

"Inuyasha! Wasn't that thing the best?"

The hanyou made a face, "That was stupid. I told you that ride was for little kids."

"It was still fun." Kagome retorted.

Inuyasha sighed before a though struck him and he gave her a suspicious look, "Kaede is a little paranoid."

Kagome looked confused, "Yeah?"

"So, why is she letting us go outside like this?"

"Oh! Well- uh- you see. After this I was going to take you to lunch."

"Uh-huh. . ."

"And- and- you'll find out." She said quickly. "But I'm going to go get a soda. Do you want one?"

"Sure."

Kagome was taken aback. He _wanted _one? She smiled, ecstatic, "I'll be right back. Stay here."

She walked away and Inuyasha leaned back against the wall of a building. He lazily allowed his eyes to droop. The heat always made him tired.

However, he snapped awake when a familiar scent assaulted his nose.

Only one thought ran through his head: _No. . ._'

He looked around to try and find the source; desperate to keep away. While he whirled around, that very person seemed to sneak up on him.

"Inu-kun?"

Inwardly jumping, "He turned and snapped to the person, "Just _what_ the hell are you doing here?"

The girl flinched at the vehemence in his tone, "I- I was merely here to have some fun. I- I am blessed to have run into you like this. I- I am sorry if I upset you." She fell to her knees with her hands rubbing her eyes, "I'm so sorry. It was a mistake. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Will you ever forgive me? Can we be friends?" She was simply sobbing now.

No matter how cold and mean he wanted to be, he didn't like crying girls. Sighing, he muttered bitterly, "It's alright."

"No! No, it's not! It's- I- I'm sorry!"

He stood there as her tears overflowed and stopped. He watched as she gave dry-air hiccups.

"It's really okay." He said in a softer tone, though not too soft.

Inuyasha knelt down beside the distraught girl, "It's in the past. There's no reason to be like this. It's over and done with. Though no matter how hard you try, you can't change anything. A mistake; that's what you made."

He could hear Kagome calling him through the thickening crowd, "I need to go now."

He stood and turned.

She watched as he walked away.

00000000

"Who was that? I thought I saw someone with you."

Inuyasha shook his head, "No one."

Kagome stopped a brief second to look Inuyasha in the eye. After a pause, she stated, "Okay."

'_Farewell. . . Kikyo._'

00000000

**Wow. That's all I can say. Wow. **

**Kikyo. **

**Bet you all knew that from the beginning. So. . . review and tell me what you think! **

**Ja ne.**


	13. Popularity Will Never Die

Disclaimer: Well, all I got to say is

Disclaimer: Well, all I got to say is. . .um. . . hi? And that. . . Inuyasha. . . belongs to. . . Rumiko Takahashi! Yes, that's it! There's no mention of me, but I fit there somewhere. . .

A/N: Oh, my god. I love you all. –glomps- I wanna hug you. I'm just so happy. . . Ah! I've decided that if you review, I'll post another chapter in the next day or so. . . Wanna know why? Because I've well reached 100 reviews. . .

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirteen: Popularity Will Never Die

00000000

'_Farewell. . . Kikyo._'

00000000

"Oh, Inuyasha, look!"

"Wha?"

"Look! Over there!" Kagome pointed to a small stand that was selling a couple paintings of gardens and waterfalls.

"Yeah? What about them?" he looked curiously at Kagome. She got so excited about such small and trivial things.

She smiled. "Nothing. I just think they're. . ." she drifted off.

"You think they're pretty?"

"Not. . . pretty. More- more. . . I can't explain it. Don't you ever get that feeling?" She paused for a second as she thought. "When I look at the paintings, it reminds me that no matter how we may abuse our earth, there's always something that fights and remains in bloom – beautiful."

"Uh-huh. . ."

"Just like the earth, I hope that humans can withstand any 'abuse' they may get, whether mental or physical, and see through it. I hope that they can still bloom – become beautiful no matter what. I hope that child right now that's getting teased for being special in his or her way will become the best child of his or her class. I hope that child who is being abused by a drunken father will stay strong until they become adults. I hope that person will bloom and become a major part of our world." Kagome examined each and every painting as she spoke.

"You have a lot of hopes," Inuyasha grumbled. But despite his words, he couldn't help but smile softly.

"I guess," she whispered. '_More than you can imagine._'

"Where we going now, wench? We've been here. . . what? Two hours? Three?"

"Yeah, I suppose you would want to leave." Kagome glanced at her wristwatch. "We can stop at a fast-food place and grab a lunch."

Inuyasha felt a small pang in his chest. It had been so long since he'd done something like that. "Sure."

"Great, we'd better leave now, though. We have to be back before dinner." Kagome grabbed onto Inuyasha's hand and tugged him toward the car.

About twenty meters from the car, Inuyasha started to feel annoyed. Stifling a growl, he laced his fingers through hers. '_Better._'

If Kagome noticed it, however, she didn't show it.

"Where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere," he replied simply, getting in the car and slamming his door shut.

Kagome did the same, saying as she pulled the keys from her pocket, "Okay then, I'll take you to my favorite place."

Inuyasha made no comment as she started the engine and reversed out of the parking spot.

00000000

"Where's this?"

"Here."

"Where's here?"

"There."

"Wench," Inuyasha growled.

Kagome giggled. "We're at Wacdnalds."

"Really?" His tone softened. '_I love this place._'

"Yeah, let's go." Kagome bounced out of the car and Inuyasha could only follow as she briskly walked in.

"What's with the attitude?" he snapped.

"Attitude? I'm sorry! I haven't been here for such a long time that I guess I got carried away."

"Keh."

"What do you want?"

Inuyasha looked up and scanned the long list of sandwiches, fries, combos, and everything else.

"Fries."

"Anything else?" Kagome chanced a look at him from the corner of her eye.\

"Fries."

"Okay then, I'll get you a large fry."

"Good."

00000000

"Now, onto the next question, where are we going to sit?" Kagome held the tray at chest-height as she stood on tip toes to examine which seats were empty, "Oh! There's a booth over there!" Kagome rearranged the tray so that she held it with one hand and grabbed Inuyasha's hand as she made her way over.

"It's even got a window by it," Inuyasha muttered.

"Yeah, that makes it better."

"Sure it does," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome laughed as she sat down and handed Inuyasha his huge pack of fries. Her hand had almost released the paper container when she zipped them back and cradled them protectively against her chest, "I forgot."

Inuyasha blinked, half in confusion half in annoyance, "What?"

Kagome smiled mischievously, "I get to ask you on question before I give you this."

"Actually, I think I would have rather had you forget that," Inuyasha complained.

"One question. Come on, Inuyasha. It's not that bad."

"Says you."

Kagome laughed before she asked, "Okay, well, what's your brother like?"

"He's a bastard."

"Anything else?"

"He a big bastard."

Kagome shook her head, "Forget I even- - -"

She was cut off by a long, loud squeal, "Oh my god! It's Inuyasha!"

Kagome could barely look over her shoulder before a few girls stampeded over to the table. The girls' mouths were going more than a mile an hour.

"Oh, is it true what they said in that magazine? Oh, what was it, _Just Like Hollywood_? No, no, what- do you know what it was called?"

"Inuyasha, Inuyasha! I wanted top know if I could have your autograph! Could I shake your hand?"

"My sister loves you! I would be the envy of her and school if you flashed me one of your famous grins!"

"Can I hug you?"

Kagome just stood there, her jaw open. Why didn't this happen at the carnival? Deciding to answer that later, Kagome grabbed the bag her sandwich and parfait was in, shoved Inuyasha's fries in, and reached in the small circle of girls to seek out Inuyasha.

After a few vain attempts, she finally grabbed his hand and pulled him out, "Let's go."

She whirled and sprinted out of the door. Inuyasha practically leapt into the car as Kagome started the engine and wheeled out of the parking lot, leaving behind a stray of whining girls on the sidewalk.

Kagome took a few minutes to catch her breath, her mind racing before she panted, "What happened?"

"How should I know?" Inuyasha replied glumly.

"Hm, well, I'll stop at a nearby park and we can finish eating under the shade in the car or at a table."

"Keh."

Kagome smiled as she continued to drive.

00000000

"This is actually nice."

Kagome blinked in surprise before turning to face the hanyou, "You think so?"

"Yeah."

Kagome smiled as she finished her parfait, "How was your fries?"

"Greasy."

"I could have told you that!" Kagome retorted.

"But good."

"Of course," Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Are we going back now?"

Kagome could barely stop herself from flinching from the tone the hanyou was using. '_Hurt, betrayal. . . it must feel good to be out._'

'_That's why you took him, right?_'

'_Yeah._'

'_That's the only reason, right?_'

'_Yeah._'

'_Keep squeaking and you'll turn into a mouse._'

'_And _who_ are you?_'

'_Call me your conscience._'

'_Fine then. _Shut up_, conscience._'

"No," Kagome stated. "I have errands to do, and since we're right here near a store, I figured we could stop there and I'll do them."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Sure."

"Great," Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she stood. "If we're going to get back on time we'd better leave now."

"Yeah," Inuyasha muttered as he stood and slowly followed her retreating form.

'_I feel a bit. . . happy._'

Happy. A good feeling.

"Inuyasha? What's talking so long? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Be patient, wench."

A very good feeling.

00000000

Kagome bustled down the aisles. "All I need now is a camera and a calendar."

"Keh."

"Here they are!"

"What?"

"Calen- oh- my- god."

"What?"

"Oh. . . my. . .god."

"What?"

"Look," it was barely a whisper.

Inuyasha turned his head and scanned the racks of calendars. Puppies, cats, lighthouses. What had made her so- the next calendar that registered in his brain made him choke on air, "What the _hell_?"

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Hell, no!"

"It's a calendar of. . . _you_!"

"Hell, no!"

"When- did you ever have time to pose for those pictures?"

"Hell, no!"

Kagome picked it up and looked at the pictures, only to burst out laughing, "There's one of you in a pink bikini top."

"What the- - -? _Sesshoumaru_!"

"What about him?"

"He took these pictures of me at the summer home. He must have sold them merely to torture me."

"What a cool brother."

"What the hell? _Cool?_"

Kagome shook her head and grabbed a different calendar, making sure to put the one she had been holding back on the shelf, "They're almost out of them," Kagome commented.

"Not helping," Inuyasha ground out.

"I never knew you were still so popular," Kagome muttered as she put her few purchases on the cashier's desk, grabbing a camera from a rack nearby and added that to the small pile.

"Neither did I."

"Hmm."

"Cash or credit?" a voice asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Huh, oh, credit," she delved into her purse and pulled out her card.

"Very well."

Kagome signed her name and picked up her few bags, "Ready to go?"

Inuyasha looked at the bags in irritation. '_She's gonna hurt herself._'

"Let me carry those."

"Huh? Oh, no! I couldn't- - -"

Inuyasha didn't let her protest any farther, but gently pried the bags from her hands, "I'm hanyou, wench. I can manage."

"O- okay." A light red tinted her cheeks as they made their way to her car.

Kagome unlocked the doors with her hand-held remote and Inuyasha opened the back door and placed the groceries in, "There."

"Yeah," Kagome muttered as they both got in the car.

Kagome started the car and headed back for the center.

00000000

"So, tell me, did Kaede really know about this?"

"O- of course!"

"You're lying, I can smell it," Inuyasha said bluntly.

Kagome winced. "Okay, so maybe she doesn't."

"So, basically I could be filed as kidnapped."

"You're over-aged."

"But I could?"

"Yeah. . ." Kagome tensed, prepared for his next smart comment.

"Rock on."

Kagome was taken aback and glanced at him. To her surprise, he was smiling.

'_You're still very popular among the girls, Inuyasha. And I know why. You're so different. Mysterious. That's why so many girls look up to you in a way. They idolize you in a way._'

Kagome gently smiled, '_I suppose I do, too._'

00000000

**How'd ya like this chapter? I'm trying to start a relationship, if you haven't noticed. **

**I hope you don't think I skipped around the day too much. It's kinda rocky, but… yeah. I don't know what I was going to say either. **

**Remember: review!**

**Ja ne!**


	14. A Realization

Disclaimer: Okay, who out there thought I owned Inuyasha

Disclaimer: Okay, who out there thought I owned Inuyasha? Raise your hand. . . . Well, I hope no one let their hand rise. But if you did, I bow to you, crown you, thrown you, and treat you like royalty – I even treat you to the grape thing.

A/N: I love you all SO much. I can't stress just how much!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Fourteen: A Realization

00000000

Kagome gently smiled. '_I suppose I do, too._'

00000000

Kagome smiled as she trekked down the hallway.

"What are you happy for, wench?"

Kagome's smiled faltered but didn't completely leave, "What's got you in such a knot, Inuyasha?"

'_Knot? Keh!_'

"What there not to be in a. . . _knot _about? I'm going back to a cage," he mumbled.

"Cage. . .? You mean . . . your room- oh. I see how that's a cage."

"It's not exactly a thrill to be trapped in a room for a week," the hanyou grumbled.

"I guess not," Kagome softly muttered to herself.

They rounded a corner and Kagome slipped her ID card into the reader before opening the door for them both.

Inuyasha growled, "Wench, you have to promise me that only I will open doors when you're with me," he gently pried the handle from her hand.

"Uh. . . why would I do that?"

"Name your price."

"Price?"

"Keh, wench is stupid. Name what I have to do so that you'll promise me."

"Oh," her face didn't betray her surprise. "Um," she wrinkled her nose in thought, "Oh! I know! I know! In return of this promise, _you_ have to promise _me_ that sometime soon you'll tell me why you're here."

That took him by surprise. Apparently his features showed that, though.

"Oh, but don't worry, you can tell me when you absolutely trust me. I know it'll be hard to tell me no matter what, but. . . I really don't think you should be hurting like you are. I don't really think it's right."

Shock; the only feeling he felt was shock.

'_Why? Why does she care so much?_'

'_Baka._' A small voice chuckled.

It was a huge agreement. He should snap, unleash his rage at such a thing – yell at her for being so stupid. But something inside him felt that he could trust her. That she wanted to be trusted.

'_But why my past?_'

He felt outraged before, that she might hurt herself in an attempt to keep the door open. It was an absurd feeling, really. He shouldn't be like that. How many times had she held open the metal door for her patient? For the girl she took care of?

'_Not near me, though. She won't do it near me._'

"Keh," Inuyasha crossed his arms over his torso supporting the door with his back.

Kagome smiled; somehow she knew that meant yes, "Great."

Inuyasha couldn't help but smile as she led him to his room, "I'm kinda tired."

He surprised himself, his tone was soft. He was sure he would have snapped it. That's what he did to Miroku, at least.

"Of course, getting out like that must have exhausted you." Kagome paused to unlock his door. "Why don't you rest?"

She was about to grab the handle when Inuyasha growled low. Kagome turned to face him and rolled her eyes. "After you, my Highness."

Inuyasha opened the door and paused for her to go in before he followed.

"So, um, I think that is what you were supposed to have for lunch," Kagome gestured to the lunch tray that held now-cold food.

"Yeah."

"The kitchen staff will be curious and hurt as to why you didn't eat their food. Especially the chef."

"Screw them."

Kagome smiled. "Joker."

With that, Kagome walked over, picked up the tray, and turned around to face the hanyou. "So, see you at dinner."

"Yeah."

With one last warm smile, Kagome slid her ID threw the scanner again before Inuyasha hurriedly walked over to open the door growling, "Such a sneaky wench."

Kagome giggled, "See ya."

The hanyou mutely nodded before she sidestepped to glide threw the open exit. 

For some reason, when Inuyasha closed the door, the atmosphere seemed to dim.

Suddenly washed with fatigue, Inuyasha walked over and buried himself in the warmth of the mattress. In only a few seconds, his mind had traveled into sleep.

00000000

"_Inu-kun, aren't you happy? It's my birthday! Why aren't you happy for me?"_

"_Sorry, just- I've been busy with work lately."_

_The long-locked girl pouted, "Do you care more about work than me?"_

_Inuyasha rolled his amber eyes, "That's not even a question I'm going to answer."_

_The girl's dark eyes filled with clear tears, "What? What does that mean?"_

_Panicked, Inuyasha blurted, "Of course work isn't all that important to me like you are."_

_A smile spread across her features, "Inu-kun, if I'm that important to you, than you like me, right?"_

_The hanyou was taken aback, "Uh. . . when did I- - -"_

"_And since you like me, than will you date me?"_

_He was shocked; date?_

"_Date?" he repeated slowly._

_The girl bubbled, "Is that a yes? Inu-kun! Will you say yes. Please?"_

_It was her eyes. Her eyes were so hopeful, he knew if he said no than she would cry; sob; wail. He didn't want her to feel hurt._

_Inuyasha took a deep breath, "Yeah. Sure, why not?"_

_The young woman jumped up and down with excitement, "Yes! Oh, Inu-kun."_

_She leapt into his arms._

_He stood there, rigid. But allowed her to do so, making sure she didn't fall as she clung to him._

-0-

"_Inu-kun," a feminine voice purred, "Are you happy? It's been two months that we've been dating now."_

"_Yeah."_

_The girl frowned, "You don't sound it. Hey, let's go out; just you and me - tonight. We'll go and see a movie, have dinner."_

_Inuyasha smiled and nodded, wanting to make his girlfriend happy._

-0-

_The girl squealed as she jumped onto her boyfriend's arm, "Inu-kun! Guess what?"_

"_Wha?"_

"_Hitori was just proposed to! Aren't you happy?" _

"_Uh. . ."_

_The girl gasped and stepped back, looking as though she had been hit, "You're not happy? Why not?"_

"_I'm happy, I'm just a bit stressed from work."_

_The girl pouted, "Inu-kun, you're always saying that! Why? Am I not just as important to you as work?"_

_Inuyasha sighed, "You know the answer to that, Kikyo."_

"_Then why don't you ask me to marry you? You say I'm the most precious thing to you but you don't do anything to prove it!"_

_The hanyou inwardly cringed at the scent of salty tears. But no matter how much he couldn't stand to see a girl cry – especially a friend – he had to tell her the truth, "I- I can't just jump into a marriage. You know this."_

"_Why? Because of your _job

_Inuyasha shook his head, "Youkai mate for life. You're not ready for that. You really aren't and you know that, too. I don't think that your. . . feelings for me will last forever. Youkai have to be extremely careful when picking a mate or it could end in death." Ignoring the almost unbearable scent of the tears that he knew the girl was holding back, he continued, "I'm sorry."_

_The girl swallowed hard, "Inu- Inu-kun. . . how could you say that? Aren't you. . . happy?" The girl was doing her best to keep from sobbing at this point, "Are you so worried about me embarrassing you that you won't do something so life-changing?" a sob escaped her before she could continue, "I can change! I _swear_ I can change! Please. . . just. . . please. . . please. . ." her body was now shaking from the force of her tears._

_It broke Inuyasha; completely and totally. She had been his best friend from childhood. She had stood by him through the incredibly tough times; when he had given up on himself. Every sob cut through him like a knife, "I'm sorry – I'm truly and completely sorry," he knelt down to the ground she had sunk to, "You don't have to change; it isn't you, I _swear_ it isn't, Kikyo."_

_But she had sworn to herself that the reason Inuyasha didn't want her was because of something she had to change._

_She didn't whine anymore about his job – instead she did everything in her power to make things easier for him because she fell in love with him; head over heels in blissful love. _

_But Inuyasha was right, she shouldn't have changed. In the end, the understanding she had gained on Inuyasha's job was her downfall – she went too far to help. And it crushed them both._

00000000

A loud, swift knock startled Inuyasha out of his slumber.

"Inuyasha? Can I come in?"

After a few seconds, reality finally grabbed the half-awake hanyou, "Why are you asking, wench? You could just walk in."

"I know, but. . . uh, forget it. But can I come in?"

"I really don't see why you can't."

There was a pause and Inuyasha could hear her as she slid her card in through the reader. The door clicked, signaling it had unlocked. But before anything else, Inuyasha practically leapt out of his bed and to the door.

Listening intently on Kagome's exact location, he slowly opened the door halfway, "Sneaky wench, didn't I tell you not to do that anymore?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, Inuyasha. You act like I don't ever do that. I open doors all the time here and you don't know about it."

'_True, true; gonna have to fix that._'

"But what's got you in such a knot about it, huh? I'm not that defenseless, although I appreciate your concern."

"C-concern?"

Kagome gave him a look, "Yeah, you're acting like a mother hen."

"Keh!" '_What an insult! I try to help her and look where it lands me! I just don't want my. . . - My? How is she suddenly mine. . .? . . .Mother hen – keh._'

"Wench," he growled.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you here? It's not dinner yet."

"Oh, well, it's time for you to see Miss Sango."

". . .Keh."

Kagome giggled and turned to the door, sliding her card through the reader. Before she had time to blink, though, Inuyasha was grabbing the handle and opening the door, "We gotta talk about that, sneaky wench."

Kagome rolled her eyes as she led him down the hall, "Yes, we do. I agreed to wench,' not sneaky.' "

"I could live with bossy wench."

"No."

"Sassy?"

Kagome sighed, "I think sneaky was the most polite."

"Keh."

Kagome smiled as a short, comfortable silence floated between them. There was a question weighing in her mind, but she wasn't too sure on weather or not to ask it now. . . .

She almost jumped in surprise when Inuyasha sighed, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "Nothing."

Kagome knew right away, for some reason, that he was lying.

"No. There is. . . Can you by any chance. . . tell me? I promise I won't laugh or anything."

Inuyasha shook his head again, stubbornly, "No, there isn't anything wrong."

Kagome swung around to face him, grabbing his hands, "I know there's something wrong, and I want you to know that no matter what it is, you can always tell me. I won't laugh or make fun of you."

She smiled warmly as she pulled his hands up, "So," nervously, she started to rub small circles over his fingers, "Do you mind if- well I mean my girl. . . she said that she wanted to visit you. Do you mind if I bring her sometime?"

Distracted by the motion of her fingers, he was startled by the sudden silence, "Uh. . . what?"

Kagome winced. '_I knew this was a bad time to ask it._'

"I asked if you minded if I were to bring my girl sometime to visit you."

"No, why should I care?"

Kagome breathed a huge sigh of relief, "Thanks. This will mean a lot to her. She seems to really admire you."

"Right. . . Who exactly is she again?"

Kagome giggled, "I never told you. And I think I'll leave it that way until you meet her face-to-face."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and Kagome suddenly frowned, "Inu. . .yasha?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?" she bit her bottom lip.

"You just did."

Kagome smiled at that. "Right," her frown surfaced again, "But. . . Inuyasha? Are you- are you. . .happy?"

The question caught him off guard as a million things flooded his mind all at once.

"_Inu- Inu-kun. . . how could you say that? Aren't you. . . happy?"_

"_Inu-kun, aren't you happy? It's my birthday! Why aren't you happy for me?"_

"_Are you happy?"_

"Inuyasha? Inuyasha? Are you okay?"

The hanyou shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"But you still haven't answered my question."

"What?

"Are you happy?"

"Keh, wench. Do I have a reason not to be happy?"

"Well. . . no." 

'_Yes,_' her mind silently answered truthfully.

"Then let's go already."

"Okay," Kagome murmured before she turned and continued down the hall.

'_She's different. When she asked me, she was sincerely concerned. So different and yet the same. I guess I should try to move on now. I can't keep my mind in the past forever. . . even if I want to._'

00000000

**So how was this chapter? Too dramatic? **

**Well, later! Review, y'all!**

**Ja ne!**


	15. A Small Internal Confession

Disclaimer: I'm gonna cry

Disclaimer: I'm gonna cry. . . I'm gonna cry. . . Just gonna sit. . . and _bawl_. –sniff- I don't own Inuyasha and very sadly I don't think I will. And I think you're evil for making me say that. . . -pout-

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Fifteen: A Small Internal Confession

00000000

'_I can't keep my mind in the past forever. . . even if I want to._'

00000000

"So. . . Inuyasha, Sango tells me that you're not all too. . . open with her."

"Keh! I wonder why."

"You told me earlier that she didn't understand you."

"She thinks I'm depressed."

"Are you?"

"No."

Her facial expression remained the same, though her tone softened, "I didn't think so. . ."

The walked in a comfortable silence for a few seconds before Kagome decided to ask, "Have you ever had any visitors?"

"Hell, no; and I never will."

"How do you know that?"

Inuyasha snorted, "Keh, that damn family of mine is always busy with other things. They wouldn't take the precious time out of their life to come to a loony-bin just to see me. Not now."

That seemed to surprise Kagome, "You mean they would have? At one point?"

"Yeah."

'_Oh. . . How cruel. . . Who wouldn't want to see their child grow up with them?_'

'_He's not at an age where he'll 'grow up'._'

'_Oh, it's you again, _conscience_. Why don't you shut-up now?_'

Kagome didn't miss the small sigh that escaped Inuyasha, but decided not to comment on it and allowed the cozy silence to resume as they continued to Sango's office.

00000000

Sango sighed as she leaned back against her chair, "So, Inuyasha, have you been taking my advice?"

'_What advice?_'

"And have you tried to see what has been getting you so depressed lately?"

Inuyasha made no move to answer.

She leaned forward, propping herself up with her elbows on her knees, "Inuyasha, you know that if you don't help yourself, no one is right?"

The hanyou still remained unmoved.

Sango sighed as she sat up, "You're hopeless. You won't take any steps to help yourself and that's hurting others."

Inuyasha didn't even seem to blink at her statement.

She growled in frustration, "Inuyasha! I can't help you if you do anything to help _me_ to help you."

"Who says I want help? For once I'd like you to leave something alone for awhile. Even if I wanted help, I need some time."

Sango looked like she had been slapped, she was so surprised he had spoken to her, "Some time for what?"

He paused, and just when Sango thought he wasn't going to answer, he relaxed against the back of the small couch and closed his eyes, gently muttering, "Some time to heal."

Sango looked at him, completely bewildered, "What? Did you hurt yourself?"

Inuyasha did not reply.

"So. . . um, I think that I have a good idea. I need you to tell me who or what you think of when I say a word, okay?"

Inuyasha snorted, "Keh."

"Mm-kay, so, how about brother?"

"Bastard."

"Mother?"

"Doting."

"Father?"

"Stern."

"Friend?"

"Friendly."

"Inuyasha," Sango whined, "You can't say that."

"You told me to answer you and I did; be happy I'm doing that."

Despite her grumbles, Sango didn't further look into the matter but instead continued her 'game.'

"Okay. . . well, what about family?"

"Cold."

"Uh – okay; how about love?"

"Broken."

"B-broken? What makes you say that?"

"Don't see how that's any of your business."

"Yeah, um, okay. So what if I said. . . house?"

"Big."

"Pets?"

"None."

"Why?"

"Allergies."

"Weird?"

"You."

Sango ignored the barb that was sent to her, but gave Inuyasha a look meant as a warning. "Mean?"

". . .Me?"

"Nice?"

Inuyasha paused as he thought about that for a second.

"Inuyasha? I need an answer." He mumbled something and Sango leaned forward. "What did you say? Ayame?"

"No. . ." pushing his pride away for a second, he mumbled again. "It's _Kago_me. Please say it right."

If she were slapped, she might have actually looked a bit less shocked. "Inu. . . yasha? . . .Why do you care so much how I say her name?"

Angered at the thought that Sango could think that he _cared_ for a _girl _– Kagome in particular – he snapped back the first thing he thought of. "Stupid wench can't even think. I don't care, but if you don't say her name right then I won't know who you're talking about."

"O-oh. Okay, well, let's continue with the game: Pajamas?"

Inuyasha gave her a look but replied, anyway. "Childish. . ."

00000000

Sango sighed as she leaned back against her chair. She smiled as her muscles relaxed against the soft material.

"Mm-kay. We've had good progress today, Inuyasha."

The hanyou grunted and grumbled in reply.

Sango smiled, but just as suddenly frowned slightly. "I suppose you should know Mr. Dai will be returning from his trip soon."

"Oh. . .?"

"Yeah, and then he'll be the one giving you your sessions."

Inuyasha mentally rolled his eyes. '_He's returning soon? Keh. Yeah, right. Just like he was returning the last time, and the time before that._'

True enough, Sango would announce that her teacher' was coming back soon and every time he didn't. Then, two weeks later, she would announce it again, and again, and yet the psychiatrist never actually returned from his trip'.

The only time Inuyasha remembered seeing Mr. Dai was the first day he came here at meals. Apparently, he had left the next day on serious business'.

"So, Inuyasha, I just want to tell you I appreciate how you opened up today. . ."

'_Opened. . .up? Keh. . . If I opened up you'd know it. Such an idiot. . ._'

"And I want to tell you that I'll try my best to understand everything you may want to tell me. . ."

'_Too bad you couldn't. . . my history is way too complicated for a human to understand. . ._'

"Whenever you want to tell me what got you in here, we can work together to help you get better. . ."

'_Keh! Hell, _I'm_ not totally sure why I'm in here!_'

"And maybe, after a while, you could get out of here and go home."

'_Right, and I'll grow wings and fly to the moon. . .Actually, that would be quite nice. . ._'

"But, for now, our time is up."

Inuyasha stifled a sigh of relief as Sango stood up. "Kagome should be here soon, so you can wait outside." Sango gestured toward the door and Inuyasha gladly left the room, leaning against the door frame after he had shut the door.

'_Sango will never understand, will she?_' Inuyasha smiled sadly and shook his head. '_No one could ever understand how I feel. Hell, _I_ barely understand. I just. . . I just can't believe that she would do something like that. . . It was an accident. . . I understand that much. But. . . she still should have had enough brains to tell her that even if it worked, I wouldn't have wanted it that way. . ._'

Yet, with brains or no, Kikyo went and made an ultimate mistake. A deadly mistake. . . and for once, Inuyasha couldn't do anything to help. That was what tore him up most.

"Hey."

The sudden cheerful voice startled Inuyasha out of his thoughts and he whirled to face the girl. "Whattya want?"

Kagome blinked. "Well, since I am taking care of you, and since you have to have an escort to go to your room. . ."

"I get your point." Inuyasha grumbled in response.

Kagome smiled at him brightly. "Well, let's get back now. It's time for bed."

Oddly, Inuyasha felt. . . scolded at that. Coming from her, it sounded like she was a mother reprimanding a child. Strange, when Miroku said it, he would roll his eyes but comply. . .

"Wench? I'm not a child. I don't _need_ to be told when what is."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I know, I know."

"Good, now then, please shut-up."

Kagome rolled her eyes. That didn't offend her like it would if she hadn't known it was his nature to say such comments. . . and in such an innocent voice, too. She smiled as she led the hanyou to his room.

"Inuyasha?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Is this part of you One Question' thing?" he made a face to show his disgust.

"No. . ."

"Good, then I guess it won't hurt."

"Well, did you have any friends?"

Inuyasha cast her a look, "Why shouldn't I have?"

"No reason," she mended quickly. "I was just curious as to if you had any friends. . ."

"What when I was younger or before?"

Kagome nodded as she smiled brightly, "Both!"

Inuyasha scrunched his eyes as he thought about it. '_Not that many. . ._'

'_Now that's just sad,_' his youkai piped up.

'_Now that's just your cue to shut-up._'

"I had a couple. . ."

Kagome's smile evolved into a scowl. "That's all you're going to tell me? A couple?"

"What do you want, then?"

"Numbers, names, appearances. Come on, a couple' won't help me."

"Fine then," Inuyasha grumbled as e rolled his eyes. "I had. . . six friends."

Kagome paused a moment. "Altogether. . .?"

"What else, wench?"

"And. . . how many do you know now?"

"Two. . . well, actually, one."

"Uh. . . wow?" Kagome blinked in shock. '_Now I know that he _isn't_ very people-friendly._'

Inuyasha snorted. "Hanyous aren't exactly thought of as people.' So they don't have many friends.' "

"Oh. . ."

'_How tragic. . . for a young child to grow up with barely any friends at all. . ._'

Inuyasha sighed, a wan, tired sound. "You wouldn't know what I went through. . . and I highly doubt you would want to know."

Kagome managed a smile, "I- I suppose so. . . Inuyasha? Who was your first friend?"

"MenouMaru. He was full-youkai, too. . ."

"Oh. . ." Kagome bit her lip as she slid her ID card through the reader. Inuyasha hastily opened the door and glared slightly at her.

"I'm on to you," he grumbled.

Kagome smiled as she went in the room. The hanyou followed, gently shutting the door.

"I was in here earlier – before I picked you up from Sango's – and brought your clothes in. They're on your bed," Kagome informed him.

"Yeah. . . I see that. . . Not totally blind."

The nurse bit her lip. "Yeah. . . I know."

There was a slightly uncomfortable silence before Kagome turned to leave.

Inuyasha stopped her, though. "Wait, just exactly why were you so interested in my friends. . . And why are you so persistent to know about my past? What happened happened, you can't change it, even if you do ever get to know about it."

"I- I know. . . But that doesn't mean I still don't want to know. I don't think any one should ever have to live through what you did. . . whatever it may be. So. . . even if I can't change the past, I want to help you brighten your future."

Inuyasha stifled a snort. '_Future? Past? Now she's a dictator?_'

'_. . . I swear you're a baka._'

'_I suppose it feels. . . good to have someone care. . ._'

'_Uh-huh. . ._'

"Well, just don't expect me rolling over for you, because I know right now that I won't."

Kagome made a face. "I didn't ask you to, but thanks for pointing that out."

"Anytime."

She rolled her eyes. "I have to go. Bye."

"Yeah."

Inuyasha watched her retreating form before sighing and changing for bed.

'_I'm scared. . ._'

'_I know you are._'

'_I think. . . I think I'm in trouble. . ._'

'_I know you are._'

'_I'm in. . . bi-i-i-ig trouble here._'

'_Once again, I know you are, but might I ask if you know what you're in trouble with?_'

Inuyasha swallowed as his gaze rose to the door and he flopped onto the mattress. '_I- I think I. . ._'

'_Yes?_'

'_I think I've learned to like her. . ._'

'_I know. . . but she'll never be a friend, right?_'

Inuyasha shook his head. '_No. . . no more friends. . .I'm done with those. . ._ _Just because I'm used to her doesn't mean a thing. . .she's- she's tolerable, that's it._'

He was answered with a laugh. '_Sure she is. . ._'

Inuyasha didn't answer as he relaxed against the mattress. The tiny sliver of a moon looked back at him through the window. . . 

'_Three days._'

'_Yep. . ._'

'_Will I survive? That's the real fear I should have._'

00000000

**Hey, everybody. Another chapter out for you to enjoy. So, review, ne?**

**Ja ne!**


	16. Youkai Conscience

Disclaimer: I

Disclaimer: I. . . I have my lawyer! Let's hear it from her mouth:

:Lawyer smiles: Sayo124 cannot own Inuyasha. It's nearly impossible. Here are a few reasons:

1) Sayo124 is not smart enough to create such a complex and delicate thing.

2) Sayo124 is quite awful at writing original stories.

3) Sayo124—

-Jaw drops- I though you were on _my _side!

:Lawyer smiles brightly: I don't take sides—I'm a lawyer.

-Grumbles- Whatever. . . And I can _so_ write originals. . . And I am_ so_ smarter then you give me credit for.

:Lawyer rolls eyes: So you say. . .

A/N: Hope you enjoyed my disclaimer. . . I wanted to do something a bit more. . . different for once. . . And, um, no, I don't have a lawyer (I'm too young), but don't get any ideas! There is a disclaimer there, so you can't sue!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Sixteen: Youkai Conscience

00000000

'_Will I survive? That's the real fear I should have._'

00000000

Inuyasha groaned as he slowly woke up to a stream of sunlight from the window in his eyes.

'_That hurts._'

He flipped over to face the wall.

'_Okay now, get up and dressed; it's getting late._

'_Who the hell are you, my mother?_'

'_Nope, I'm your youkai voice, you know, the _intelligent_ one?_'

'_Just be qui- - - where are my clothes. . .?_'

'_On the dresser over there._'

Inuyasha grudgingly left the bed, retrieved his clothes, and got changed. '_Stupid wench. . . ruining my head._'

A sigh came from his youkai voice. '_How did she ruin your idiotic head? She didn't touch a thing. _Believe_ me. I know. There's nothing there._'

'_Not physically, I can't. . . well, I can't get her _out_ of my head. . ._'

His answer was an exasperated sigh.

The hanyou had barely sat down before there was a knock at the door. "Inuyasha. . .? Can I come in. . .? You're awake, right?"

"Yeah, it's okay," he got up and scampered over to the metal door, awaiting the sound of her Id going through the scanner.

'_If I hadn't been awake, would I have answered her. . .?_'

'_Nope._'

'_I didn't think so. . ._'

The quiet click' came, and Inuyasha opened the door before Kagome could blink an eye.

"Oh. . . you surprised me. . ."

"Yep."

Kagome face wrinkled with worry. "Are you okay? You seem tense."

"Never better."

"Oh. . . well, here's your breakfast," she placed the tray on the stand that was barley an arms-length away. "Now I get my question."

Seeing the expression on her face, Inuyasha's eyebrows drew up. "I think I'm afraid. . ."

Kagome roller her eyes in reply, "Tell me about this. . . MenouMaru' person."

"That's not a question."

Kagome paused before smiling, ignoring his cocky statement, "Are you going to tell?"

"He was my first friend. I met him when I was about five."

"Really?"

"Yeah. . . but after several years, he became a bastard. He was always so cocky and trying to out-do me at everything. Always trying to take away what I liked and cherished."

"What did he do?"

"He wrote; he's about three years older than me. He writes poetry and illustrates it."

"Sound nice. . ."

"Sure it does. But he isn't all that nice."

"Oh. . ." for some reason, she felt that subject shouldn't be tampered with. Kagome bit her lip gently, totally lost at what to say. "I guess I should go."

She turned and – with Inuyasha opening the door – left his room.

In only a matter of milliseconds, Inuyasha felt completely alone.

00000000

'_I should've tried to make her stay a little longer. . ._'

'_Why?_'

'_At least when she's around I'm not feeling so. . . isolated._'

'_Isolated? You felt worse before, remember?_'

Inuyasha sighed. '_I know. I already told you: I'm in trouble. I've come to need her. . . _some_what. I would definitely be better off without her._'

His youkai sighed as well. '_You don't feel isolated, and you know it._'

'_Then what do I feel, oh, magnificent one?_'

'_You know that, too, oh, great idiotic baka._'

'_. . . Should I be offended or complimented?_'

'_Only you would take that as a compliment. . ._'

'_And only you are stupid enough to _not _shut-up._'

Sighing for the umpteenth time in only a matter of minutes, Inuyasha leaned back against the wall as he sat comfortably on his bed.

'_I feel like listening to some good music. . ._'

'_Tell me you're joking._'

'_I'm not, actually._'

'_You like that ear-braking junk?_'

'_Watch what you're calling ear-breaking,' ear-breaker._'

'_And you call me annoying?_'

'_Yep._'

'_. . .I'm feeling a bit violated here._'

'_I'm laying down, and when I do, you will shut-up._'

'_We'll see about that._'

Doing his best to stifle a growl, the irritated hanyou flopped down into a stiff laying position.

'_. . . Why did you tell her about MenouMaru?_'

'_Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout._'

'_Of course you don't. How could I forget that an evil green blob makes you talk about things that isn't anyone else's business?_'

'_I have to say, your sarcasm isn't appreciated at this time, thank-you very much._'

'_Yeah, okay, fine. That's not an answer to my question._'

'_. . .Do you have a point?_'

A very peeved and ferocious growl came from his youkai. '_Answer. The. Question._'

'_I don't know._'

'_You don't?_'

'_No, I mean. . . she just seemed to want to know so badly. . . I thought maybe she did want to know._'

'_That's fine; but you do know that if you told her – which you will not – that she most likely won't understand what you're even talking about. . . And if by some miracle she can translate the youkai tradition, then she won't be able to help, right?_'

'_. . . It sounds so weird when you say it._'

'_You won't tell her._'

'_Just for that, I might._'

'_Do it and I'll. . ._'

'_You can do a damn thing to me._' Inuyasha contradicted.

'_Here's a question: do _you_ remember why you despise MenouMaru?_'

'_Hell, yes. He totally fucked up my life._'

'_Yes, he did. Do you know why, though?_'

'_No. I didn't do a thing to him._'

'_So you're saying you didn't deserve what you got?_'

Inuyasha sneered. '_Duh._'

'_And here I was staring to think that you actually had brains. Here's a hint: Monique._'

'_Monique? You mean that American woman? What about her?_'

'_Now I know you're an idiot. Here's how it went, please make sure to pay attention._'

Inuyasha growled in response. '_You keep acting like this and I'll cut you out of my head. . ._'

'_Baka. It was two years ago. Are you still with me?_'

'_Jack-ass. Continue or shut-up._'

'_MenouMaru had just finished up his first big project. You and he had a fight and you weren't speaking to each other – though that's no surprise, you were never getting along with him after a while._'

'_I thought I told you to continue the story or shut-up._'

'_Wha-atever. Anyway, you decided to tell Monique some things about MenouMaru that weren't to. . . flattering._'

'_Bastard has too many things against him._'

'_Monique got pretty upset and left. MenouMaru was pissed._'

'_Yeah, I wonder why?_'

'_You know full-well that he had a soft spot for her and was planning to take her as his mate._'

'_Actually, no, I never did._'

'_Monique never even gave him the time of day, even after he groveled for her forgiveness._'

'_I don't think I'd be too happy, either, if I were her._'

'_Starting to feel guilty?_'

'_Keh!_' Inuyasha snorted. '_No where near._'

'_You did this to her and your self._'

'_No, I didn't._'

'_Think about it. You know who's at fault, don't you?_'

Inuyasha didn't answer, but, instead, thought about what happened as he slowly ate his breakfast. For once, he thought maybe his youkai was right. . . 

'_Maybe_.

'_Hell, screw it. It was her fault, not mine. I didn't make her do anything._'

He sighed before stretching out his cramped legs, desperately ignoring the one statement that burned in his head: _Actions speak louder than words._

00000000

"Onee-san. . ."

"Sh-h!" Hushing the girl, Kagome knocked on the door. "Inuyasha?" She slid her card through the reader, just to come face-to-face with the said hanyou.

"What is. . . it? . . .Wench?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that- - -?"

"Ellen? Yes, it is," Kagome kneeled down to the girl's level. "Will you say hi to Inuyasha?"

Ellen smiled shyly. "H- hi, Inuyasha- a."

"Hey."

"Onee-s- san?"

"Hmm?"

"I- I'm hung- gry."

Kagome smiled brightly. "Inuyasha, do you mind if Ellen eats with you today?"

"I don't see why not."

Ellen clapped her hands before darting over to hug the hanyou around the legs.

Looking down, he asked curiously. "What are you doing?"

The girl backed off and turned to her nurse. "Can I eat now?"

Kagome bit back a laugh when she saw the look on Inuyasha's face when Ellen had ignored his question. She nodded and grabbed the chair from the small desk-stand and placed it near Inuyasha's bed.

Ellen vigorously flopped into the chair while Inuyasha followed grudgingly to his bed. Handing Ellen her tray and Inuyasha his, Kagome sat on the comforter between the two patients.

Inuyasha wasted no time in shoveling his lunch into his mouth. Ellen daintily nibbled on hers as she poured out questions. "A- are you th- the reason why on- one-chan is l- late sometimes- s?"

Inuyasha chewed his sandwich as he quirked his eyebrow. Swallowing his food, he asked her, "How often is she late?"

The little girl considered that. "N- not that of- often."

Satisfied with that answer, Inuyasha dove back into his meal.

"Will you b- be my fr- friend?"

'_Aw, damn. Now what?_'

'_Just say yes._'

Inuyasha smiled patiently at the girl, "Sure."

Her smile, if possible, brightened. "I gave m- my pict- t- ture to Mommy."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"How did you do that? I thought she was- - -"

"She i- is. I g- gave it to m- my grandmother wh- who promised t- to M- Mommy."

"Of coarse."

Kagome kept quiet the entire meal, allowing the conversation to continue.

00000000

"Okay Ellen, it's time to go."

The girl pouted. "A- A few m- more minutes, nee-s- san?"

"No, we're running late."

The little girl deflated and Kagome grabbed the two lunch trays as well as Inuyasha's breakfast tray. "Aw, it's okay. You'll see Inuyasha again." Kagome paused as the hanyou opened the door for her and Ellen to go through.

"I'll be right back. You have an appointment with Sango and I still need to ask you a question," Kagome called over her shoulder as she continued down the hall.

Inuyasha rolled his head on his shoulders to loosen the muscles as he made his way back to his bed.

'_Make sure not to tell her anything important._' His youkai voice snapped at him.

'_Did you notice Ellen isn't stuttering as much?_'

'_Yes, I have. Now, back to the subject: only answer questions that are- - -_'

'_I wonder why she's here. . ._'

'_I don't know! Now stop- - -_'

'_She doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her. . ._'

'_Will you be quiet!_'

'_D'ja say something?_'

'_. . . I give up._'

'_Did you know I'm feeling a bit happier than I used to?_'

'_You should be wallowing in guilt. . ._'

Inuyasha blinked his amber orbs in surprise. '_Huh? Why?_'

'_Sometimes I wonder if you ever listen to anyone besides yourself. . . MenouMaru._'

'_What about the bastard?_'

'_You do know that you caused him grief as well, right?_'

'_I did?_'

'_Oh for the- - - Screw it. We never had this discussion._'

'_Whatever, Kagome's coming. . . make sure not to tell her anything important, okay?_'

'_. . . I'll just go kill myself now._'

'_I don't feel for MenouMaru. . . not after what he did to me._'

00000000

**Righty-o. I gave all the clues as to what happened to Inu, now you have to put two and two together. If you don't get anything, then you'll have to wait several chapters until something else major comes out. Now review, please!**

**Ja ne!**


	17. Psychiatrists and Twenty Questions

Disclaimer: I'm bored, tired, and hungry

Disclaimer: I'm bored, tired, and hungry. . . just to top it off, I also don't own Inuyasha. . .

A/N: Thanks for your support, you don't know how much it means, do you? Anyway, please keep it up!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Seventeen: Psychiatrists and Twenty Questions

00000000

'_I don't feel for MenouMaru. . . not after what he did to me._'

00000000

There was a 'click' as Kagome ran her card through the scanner, and Inuyasha pulled the door open fro her.

She didn't even look surprised as she smiled at him. "Ready to go to Sango's?"

Inuyasha grunted. "Keh."

Kagome rolled her eyes but smiled. "I take that as a yes?"

When the hanyou didn't respond, but folded his arms across his chest, Kagome grabbed his sleeve and pulled him after her as she closed the door to his room, bustled through the hall, went through half the building, and stopped in front of Sango's office – and, surprisingly, Inuyasha didn't whine.

"I'll come and get you later," the nurse said as she gently tried to shove him through the door. He complied and went into the room, although he could have easily fended her off.

He had no more than took one step into the room when Kagome left and Sango hovered over him. "So, are you ready for another break-through?"

'Break-through? _Keh._'

When Inuyasha didn't answer, she ushered him to a chair, grabbed a notebook and pen, and seated her self in her own chair.

"What with the book?"

Sango didn't miss a beat as she continued scrawling. "I've decided to take notes on everything that happens in here with you so that I can look back sometime if I'm ever in a rut as to what's wrong with you and be able to figure it out. Mr. Dai suggested it."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. '_Of course, she could never think of something so logical._'

"Okay, so what are you going to try to do today?"

Sango actually looked proud of herself. "Nothing."

" Nothing'?" Inuyasha echoed.

"That's right. From now on, you talk and I take notes. I listen to you."

"I. . . talk? You. . . take notes?"

Sango nodded. "That's right."

'_I suppose it wouldn't. . . hurt to tell her some unimportant things._'

Inuyasha shrugged, trying his best to look nonchalant. "Well, when I was younger, hanyous were shunned. I had to work my very best to change everyone's mind about me being a dirty half-breed.' It took awhile, though. I had to make my first movie when I was about seven. After the premiere, people started to change their first impression of me."

"Oh," was all Sango could manage. She blinked at him before realizing that she hadn't been keeping up with her notes. With a jump, her hand started making little jerking movements as her hand flew over the pages, writing what her client had just said. "Anything else?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I didn't have any real friends until I turned five or six." Sango wrote that down as Inuyasha continued. "My first friend was. . . was a girl."

Sango, hand flying from side to side of the paper, seemed to just realize what the hanyou had said and her hand abruptly came to a halt. "A. . . female. . . friend?"

"Yeah. . . K- Ki- - -" he swallowed before forcing out the name. "Kikyo. Her name was Kikyo."

"O-oh." Sango managed. Her face held utter shock and her hand slowly starting writing, though her eyes were on Inuyasha's face and she wasn't looking at what she was writing.

"Yeah. . . My next friend was MenouMaru."

"The painter?" Sango cut in, her gaze back on her notebook.

"And author."

"Author?"

"Of poems. . ."

"Mm."

Inuyasha relaxed against the chair. '_I need to tell _someone_ about what happened. It's like a huge rock that won't go away and I have to carry it. . . But I won't tell Sango. . . I'll tell her about some trivial things, but I won't tell her about. . . what happened._'

"I have an older brother. We don't really get along too well. . . He has a girlfriend."

"Is that the problem?"

Inuyasha knew the answer to that. Seeing his brother and Rin together. . . It hurt. It made him realize what he was missing. . . That was probably why he agreed to date Kikyo in the first place. . . Just to _feel_ like he had a certain someone. . . Despite the fact that Kikyo had never been like that to him in his eyes.

"No," he lied. "I didn't care. I had two friends."

"Were you close?"

"I was with Kikyo. . . MenouMaru was somewhat a bastard after a few years. . ."

"Any reasons as to why?"

"I. . . upset him a few times. . . But I think the worst thing I did to him happened only a little while ago."

"What did you do, Inuyasha?"

"That's none of your concern," Inuyasha snapped.

"Uh. . . okay. . . Anything else you want to say?"

At the moment, Inuyasha would have liked to rip out a certain psychiatrist's vocal cords out. "Why not? I only have six friends." He seemed to sense that Sango's next question was going to be what their names were, so he took it one step ahead. "Kikyo, MenouMaru, Kouga. . .sometimes, Naraku. . . sort of, Miroku, and Shippo. . . Screw it, I have five friends."

"Okay, five then." Sango murmured.

"Are we done yet?"

"Can you believe it's only been about twenty minutes?"

"No, actually." 

Sango wrinkled her nose. "Not very optimistic. . ."

"MenouMaru told me that."

"How old is he?"

"Twenty-two -three? I'm not really sure."

"Okay, then. We'll work around this. Tell me about Kikyo."

"She's a female. . . and she's my friend. That's all there is to it."

"Just your friend?"

"Okay then, she was my _dearest_ friend."

Slowly, his words went through her and she looked up from the notebook. " Was'?"

Inuyasha shrugged, trying to keep only nonchalance in his tone. "We grew apart." He swallowed and winced at the abnormal tone that did its best to hide in his voice.

"How?"

"Don't see how that's any of your business."

Sango sighed before putting her pen down for a second to rub her tired wrist. Inuyasha's past was a bit complicated. . .

00000000

Sango tried to smile as she rolled her neck slightly as she dropped her pen and notebook on her desk. Truthfully, the first half of the session had been better. After awhile, all she got from Inuyasha was "I don't see how it's your business," or "It's none of your concern." It was very tiring. But, nonetheless, this had been, by far, the best session yet.

"Okay, Inuyasha, I'm going to have a two minute overview: You're really starting to open up. I'm glad about that. You've apparently had a lot happen to you. . ."

Inuyasha easily tuned her out as she continued to ramble on.

She had just finished and was catching her breath when there was a knock at the door. Inuyasha's ears perked as he heard Kagome mutter, "Sango-sama? I think it's time for Inuyasha to come back, now."

Sango smiled at the hanyou before standing and stretching. "Okay, Inuyasha. I'll see you tomorrow. You're free to go."

Inuyasha was about to snap back a reply when he heard the doorknob grind as it was turned. His mouth froze, half-open, and he flew to the door, grabbing the doorknob and yanking the door open.

"Wench. . ."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Inuyasha."

"Please, what, wench?"

Kagome growled at him. "Are you ready to go to your room?"

"Of course, wench."

Kagome puffed out her cheeks as she whirled around. "Then come on."

"Keh! Impatient wench."

00000000

"Okay, Inuyasha. I just dropped Ellen off at her next session, so I have a bit of free time. . . Which means. . . I get to ask you some questions."

"Keh. Like hell."

Kagome rolled her eyes as she plopped down onto the foot of the bed, leaning against the wall. Inuyasha followed her example and crawled to the head of the bed. His back resting against were the headboard _would_ be – had there been one – but, instead, met the wall.

Kagome took a deep breath before observing Inuyasha from the corner of her eyes. "Can we play twenty questions?"

"Keh. . ."

A smile blossomed on her face as she started. "So. . .who was your first friend?"

"Kikyo. . . why are you so interested in knowing what happened to me?"

Kagome shrugged. "I just don't think you deserve to be hurting so badly, like you are." Her response from the hanyou was a 'keh!' "Okay. . . Tell me. . . How did you meet Kikyo?"

Inuyasha sighed. "I was only five, almost six. She had just moved in. I was outside, running around trying to train. My father had just told me about how he used to fight youkai off quite a few decades ago. I thought that if I trained. . . If I became strong. . . than I wouldn't be 'dirty.' But I had tried to jump into a high-branched tree. As you could guess, I didn't make it. My leg was bloodied up pretty badly after a good deal of my weight landed on it. I sat there awhile, sniffling, telling myself youkai don't cry, that I was being weak, when I first heard her. I suppose I was so wrapped up in trying to act strong that I hadn't smelled her coming. . . She asked what was wrong and I told her I fell. . . I was weak. I was afraid she would laugh at me. . . scorn me about being 'dirty.' But, instead, she smiled and told me her mother had a really good first-aid kit that was being badly abused. . . Funny how I remember her trying to cheer me up. . . to make me laugh. It worked.

"I went to her house. Her mother was nice enough. She always smiled. I got cleaned up and ever since then, I've been her friend. . . I've protected her from a lot of things."

Kagome swallowed. Inuyasha had it rough when he was little. . . and maybe he still did. '_Sh__e seems important to him._'

"So. . . do you have any other siblings besides your brother?"

Kagome shook he head. "Nah, only the brat. I have two questions. . . I don't know which one to pick," she whined. She wrinkled her nose before asking, "Just how old _is_ our father?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. . . I _think_ he was born in the early sixteenth century. . . I _think_, but for all I know, he could've been born in the thirteenth century."

"Wow," Kagome mouthed.

"My turn; Do you have parents? Mother, Father?"

"I live with my brother, mother, and grandfather. . . My father died. Now, what do you mean when you say dirty'?"

"Didn't I already tell you? Hanyou's were considered dirty' when I was a pup. I was frowned upon and had to prove my worth."

"You sure did that. . ." Kagome frowned as she remembered the girls that had fawned all over him at the fast food restaurant.

"Keh. So, wench. . . Did you have any boyfriends before you came here?"

Kagome shook her head, slowly. "No, I- - -" she cut herself off as she cast him a curious glance, but continued. "No, I didn't. Unless you count Hojou. And why do you care?"

Inuyasha shrugged, trying his best to keep the cursed flames from nestling on his face. "No reason; I told you something personal, now you have to return the favor."

Kagome thought a second. "Sounds fair. Okay, now- - -"

"Ah, ah, ah, wench. You already got your question."

Kagome pouted but let him continue.

"So, wench. Who's Homo?"

Kagome bit her lip to keep from breaking out into a fit of giggles. "Inuyasha. . . That's not nice _whatsoever_. But, he's a friend from High school who tried to get me to date him. Happy?"

"Yeah, did you have any- - -?"

"Inuyasha! It's _my _turn!"

Inuyasha shook his head as he sent her a smirk. "No, it's not, you distinctly asked: 'Happy?' So, it's my turn."

Kagome's jaw dropped as she pinned Inuyasha with a stare. "No fair!"

"Rules are rules. So, did you have any friends at school?" 

Kagome's smile was genuine. "Lots of them. But I only had a few close ones."

Inuyasha nodded and Kagome continued. "So, Inuyasha, who were your friends? You said you had six. . ."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "I changed my mind. . . I didn't have that many."

"Names?" Kagome gently prodded.

"Naraku, Kouga, MenouMaru, Miroku, and Kikyo."

"What about the sixth- - -?"

"One question, wench," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Okay, okay, we'll do it your way."

"Thank-you. Now, what type of movies do you like?"

"What?" Kagome giggled.

"You heard me," Inuyasha remarked, smile in place.

". . . Everything."

"Really, now?"

"Yeah."

"Even horror- - -?"

"Ah, ah, ah, dog-boy. One question."

Inuyasha growled but complied.

"Now, what about your sixth friend?"

"Shippo? Hell, no. He's just a runt that I know. . . An orphan."

"What?"

Inuyasha gave a look but said, "I should tell you only one question, but I'm feeling nice today, I'll count this as your next one. . . I found him living out in the woods. He said he's an orphan. . . I guess he's no older than your brother. He begged me not to tell anyone that he's back there, and in return, he'd owe me one huge ass-wipe of a favor."

Kagome nodded. "Okay. So you don't think of you two as friends?"

"Nope. . . now, how many friends do you have?"

"I told you."

"You said a lot.' That's not very helpful."

"I don't know. . . twenty? Thirty? Forty?"

"You had a lot then. . .?"

"Yeah. An _that's _your next question, so I get to go."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, but Kagome cut in, "What goes around comes around."

Inuyasha snorted. "It's your last question, anyway."

"You've been keeping track?"

Inuyasha shot her a look. "You haven't?"

"Then _that _was your last question."

"Inu_yasha_," Kagome whined.

Said hanyou sighed. "Fine."

Kagome thought before saying, "You know what? You can go first, I'll think of my next question as I answer yours."

"Fine. . . Do you think you're _my_ friend?"

Kagome beamed at him, "Of _course_!"

Inuyasha hid his blush well, "K- keh."

"So. . . tell me. . . what did you _do_ to make your friend, MenouMaru, so angry at you?"

"What?"

"C'mon, Inuyasha. Don't tell he just had anger-management problems, I know that's not true."

Inuyasha gave her a suspicious look before answering very slowly, almost as if he were measuring each word. "There was a girl. . . Monique. I. . . I told her something about MenouMaru that wasn't all too. . . flattering, and she went home, back to America. She was an exchange student and she was going to move here to become his mate. . . but he never heard from her again."

Kagome whistled low. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be too happy with you, either, if you did that to me."

There was a pause before Kagome stood up saying, "It's time for me to pick up Ellen. . . See you later."

He watched as she stood up. He snorted before he opened the door when she unlocked it. She gave him a smile and left.

Inuyasha sighed as he let the door close. '_She hates me. . . she thinks I'm a monster. . . MenouMaru, are you _happy_ you fucked up my life?_'

00000000

**-sniffs nonchalantly- Cool beans…? Yeah, I have nothing to say once again. (Besides that I hate editing, but you should know this by now.)**

**Review!!**

**Ja ne!**


	18. Afternoon Fun

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to write one since we all know who really owns him

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to write one since we all know who really owns him . . . Me . . .! Okay, not really, Rumiko Takahashi does, although I wish I do . . .

A/N: Ugh. I have an announcement to make. I _think_ (think, people, _think_) I'm somewhere around the halfway point of this story. . . But then again, maybe I'm not. . .

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Eighteen: Afternoon Fun

00000000

'_She hates me. . . she thinks I'm a monster. . . MenouMaru, are you _happy_ you fucked up my life?_'

00000000

Inuyasha whimpered as his eyes grew heavy. He couldn't remember a time that he had felt so surrounded with feelings of caring.

He gave a yawn that came out as a sigh before relaxing against the mattress he had placed himself upon. For some reason he grew tired only a few minutes after Kagome left and had decided to lay in bed for awhile to rest his body up a bit.

His eyes and mind gave away into a blissful oblivion of darkness as he fell to sleep.

00000000

_Inuyasha smirked as MenouMaru left the room. He didn't miss the warning glare that was sent to him. _

'Like I care.'

_He heard the rustle of paper and turned to look at the person beside him._

'What does he see in her?'

_Monique. That was her name. She had arrived at MenouMaru's house seconds after Inuyasha arrived, himself. He had heard MenouMaru tell him about her on many occasions, yet he never really _heard _him._ _But he had been surprised when MenouMaru answered the hesitant knock on the door. _

_Elbow-length dark brown hair with a slighter lighter shade of highlights was the first thing he noticed. The second was her different eyes. A mixture of green and blue, they seemed to hypnotize MenouMaru._

"_Hey, happy birthday," she mumbled as she walked over to him and planted a small kiss on his cheek._

_Inuyasha couldn't resist rolling his eyes and grumbling at the show of affection._

"_Hey, I don't complain about you and your girlfriend, do I?" MenouMaru had growled at Inuyasha._

_For some reason, having MenouMaru call Kikyo his girlfriend only served to worsen his already sour mood. The argument they had had earlier about trivial things such as the best color to describe a setting sun, what type of flowers best flattered a girl, and even what color pajamas was best to wear when one was sick was still hanging in the air between them, crackling and fizzing with new vigor._

"_Keh," he'd replied as he stubbornly snapped his gaze away from them to the floor and closed his eyes, determined to ignore MenouMaru for the night, if possible. He didn't ant to come, to begin with. The only reason why he'd come was because MenouMaru had asked Inuyasha to come while Kikyo was around. And Kikyo had hinted on going away for the weekend with him. _

_Inuyasha now kicked himself for letting MenouMaru trick him into coming. He knew from the start, when he was first asked to show, that MenouMaru was simply taunting and would rather have his presence absent;, and the attempted hidden look of horror that could easily of been mistaken for any other emotion proved that when Inuyasha had reluctantly agreed to come. . ._

'What a mistake that had been.'

_True enough, Monique nervously played with the wrapping of MenouMaru's unopened present that she was clutching on her lap. He didn't even flick his gaze to her when he decided to make conversation._

"_So tell me, exactly, how did you meet my little friend?"_

_Her gaze met – or would have met, had he been looking at her – his and she smiled. "I was having some trouble with a taxi – Not perfect with your language, yet." She laughed softly and Inuyasha gave a monotone – though she couldn't tell – laugh, as well._

"_Yeah. . . Hey, you want to know something _really_ interesting about your future mate and hubby?"_

_Her bright smile was his answer._

_Inuyasha chuckled, appearing friendly. _Just you wait, MenouMaru; call this a little taste of payback.'

"_It happened just a little ago- - -"_

"Inuyasha!"

"_- - -met- - -"_

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

"_- - -know- - -"_

"I said 'Inuyasha'! That means you need to wake up!"

The memory fell silent, but darkness of sleep remained.

"Inu_yasha_! Wake up, or else!"

The hanyou's eyes fluttered for a few seconds before opening. "Eh?"

"Ah, so the dead wakes."

Inuyasha sat up. "Kagome. . .?" he mumbled, "What are you doing here?"

"Aw, what a greeting I get," she teased. "I'm here to take you out for an afternoon of fun."

He stifled a yawn. "Isn't it a little late?"

"Nope," Kagome shook her head. "It's only about two, and dinner isn't until about six."

"Oh. . ."

"So, do you want to?"

" 'Want to' what?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Go out for the afternoon."

"Oh. . . why not? Unless of course you plan to kill me or something."

"Dog-boy. . .! Hey. . . now that you mention it, that would be a good way to- - -"

"Oi, wench!" Inuyasha whined. "That ain't very nice."

Kagome wrinkled her nose. "And 'ain't' isn't in the dictionary nor should it be in your vocabulary."

"Keh. Not like you're my mother," he grumbled.

Kagome giggled, "Come on."

Inuyasha gave a long-suffering sigh. "The things I do around here for. . . for nothing."

"Aw, so sorry."

"Let's just go," he remarked dryly.

Kagome unlocked the door, Inuyasha opened it, and they started down the hall.

00000000

". . . _This_ is what you meant by 'afternoon of fun'?"

"Oh, come on. This _is_ fun," Kagome argued as she ripped off another small bit-size piece of bread and tossed it.

". . . Kidding me, right?"

"No. . . Why don't you join me?"

"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed. "I'd rather be sent to my death."

Kagome shrugged as she threw another hunk of bread. "Your loss."

There was a pause before Inuyasha slowly turned his gaze to Kagome's hand – that was tossing another bite of bread. His eyes traveled with the morsel. Lightly, it landed on the surface of water, sending ripples across the smooth surface of the lake. Barely half a second passed before there was a fluttering of wings and a small assortment of water birds were slapping at water with their delicate beaks, seeing which would reach the small meal first.

Kagome clucked her tongue, attracting some of the birds' attention as she flung another piece.

Inuyasha watched, idly fascinated at how Kagome seemed to enjoy feeding the ducks and a few other breeds of water fowl.

'_Breeds. Just like me, but different. . . full breed, half breed. . . How. . . No, _what's_ the line that separates them, besides blood?_'

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Why?"

Kagome's wrist abruptly stopped. The bread she had been about the throw slipped out of her hand from her stifled actions and rolled slowly down the bank into the waters. "What?"

"Why?" he repeated.

Kagome's brow crinkled in a frown. "What do mean by 'why'?"

"I mean. . . why the park? Why feeding birds?"

"Oh. . . that easy." Kagome returned to her task as she answered. "It's just. . . a great feeling you get, you know? Like they depend on you, and only you; that you bring them what they need. . . and yet I know they depend on themselves as well. . ." Kagome suddenly giggled. "Never mind. I'm not making sense."

Inuyasha observed her silent actions for a few more seconds before asking, "Hey?"

"Yeah?"

"Um. . . Mind if I help?"

Kagome didn't answer but placed the clear plastic bag that contained most of the loaf of bread between them and she continued feeding the birds, smiling.

The hanyou pulled out a large slice of bread and ripped a smaller piece off. Glancing at Kagome he saw that she was engrossed in her task. He raised his arm up slightly, but froze. Peering in both directions, he made sure that no one was looking. Satisfied, he flung the bread in and pulled his arm back down in a blur of movement. He paused before once again looking around to make sure no one saw.

There was an eruption of giggles and Inuyasha turned to see Kagome breaking down.

"Your- - - face- - -fun- - - ny- - - actions- - - hilari- - - ous," she managed between laughs.

Inuyasha huffed. "Ain't _that_ funny, wench."

Kagome clamed down and wiped her eye. "So you say. But you didn't see your face."

He growled before pouting. "That's the last time I ever do that – It's childish!"

Kagome suddenly frowned and reached down for Inuyasha's hand. "No, please don't." She uncurled his fingers and placed another small hunk of bread in his palm. "I'm sorry I laughed, but you don't need to be so cautious."

"Keh. . ." his ears dropped.

"W- - - wait! What did I do?"

"Nuthin', it's just. . ." his voice drifted off.

"What?"

"I used to do this a lot. . . when I was a pup. . . with my mother."

"Oh. . ." Kagome managed.

"I knew you'd think it was stupid. . ."

Kagome shook her head and smiled at him. "No, I don't. . . Will you still feed them with me?"

Inuyasha sighed but answered her by flinging the mini-meal into the water.

Kagome beamed and joined him.

00000000

"Well, that was fun!"

"Keh! That all depends on what you meant by 'fun'!"

Kagome smiled and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Inuyasha! I _know_ you enjoyed it. You were smiling the whole way back."

Inuyasha huffed. "Was not."

Kagome giggled. "I think I'm running a little late. I'll bring your dinner in a few minutes. See ya till then!"

Kagome slid her Identification card through the scanner and Inuyasha opened the unlocked door. Kagome mumbled something before giving a last good-bye and leaving.

00000000

"Come on! It's _good_!"

Inuyasha sputtered at the smell. "Good?"

Kagome giggled as she stopped teasing him and placed the tray on his desk stand.

"And now I get my question."

Inuyasha moaned as he rubbed at his nose.

"One torture after another," he grumbled.

Kagome giggled. "It's not that bad."

"Es ew, mench!" came Inuyasha reply, muffled from the mattress he had slammed his face into.

"Fine then. I'll put it on the other side of the room- - -" Kagome picked up the tray and clacked it down as far away from the hanyou as possible. "- - -and now I get my question."

Inuyasha slowly picked up his head and sniffed the air. "Ugh, it's still there."

Kagome pouted. "But my question- - -!"

"My nose."

"Please?" Kagome asked, changing tactics.

Inuyasha glared. _'No fair!_'

"Keh! Fine. . ."

"Yes! Now. . . _Why_, exactly, am I not allowed to open doors on my own ?"

"Keh, I hate those damn things."

"Why?"

Inuyasha sighed. _'I should tell her that she only gets one question. . ._' But the hopeful look in her eyes made him answer. "There are a few reasons, really. One is that I _always_ used to get my ears shut in doors by accident- - - Oi! No laughing."

"I can't help it!" Kagome giggled. After a few minutes, she managed to calm herself down enough to say, "Okay, please continue."

Inuyasha's daze narrowed and he did continue, though he didn't stop glaring at Kagome. "The second is that my mother always slammed the door on her fingers when she wasn't thinking about what she was doing."

Kagome winced. "Ouch."

Inuyasha's ears flattened slightly. "Yeah, her fingers. . . so. . . _purple_."

Kagome winced again. "_Ow_."

There was a slight silence as Kagome thought about that. Finally, she said, "Well, your clothes are lying over there, on the stand, when you want them for tonight. . . And no matter what you say, Inuyasha. That dinner is perfectly _harmless_."

Inuyasha snorted at that. "Yeah, right."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Tell me why you don't like it."

"It's. . . _spicy_."

Kagome blanched for a second. "How can you tell?"

"Keh! I can smell it wench!"

Kagome laughed softly. "Aw, poor hanyou. . . Shoot! I really need to go now, Inuyasha. See you tomorrow morning!" At that she left – with Inuyasha opening the door.

Inuyasha glared at the tray. _'Nope, I think I'll just wait until tomorrow, thank-you very much._'

Sighing, Inuyasha changed into the change of clothes Kagome had left for him. _'I know I wouldn't have changed later, anyway. . ._'

The hanyou sat on his bed, wandering what he was going to do until it was time to sleep. . .

"_Aw, poor hanyou!"_ The tone she used hadn't been mocking – it had been playful, gentle teasing. . .

'_So. . . Kagome doesn't hate me, after all._'

'_Baka, she never had a reason to._'

Inuyasha ignored the youkai voice as he changed to a lying position, a wave of sleepiness washing over him.

'_Keh, Today wasn't. . . so bad._'

With that thought in mind, Inuyasha fell into a peaceful slumber.

00000000

**Walla. I finally got off my lazy butt and updated. So, since **_**I**_** did some work, will **_**you**_** do some work and review? Puh- puh- puh- PLEASE? ;)!**

**Ja ne!**


	19. To Fix Each Other

Disclaimer: Ugh

Disclaimer: Ugh! -Swallows antihistamine pill for allergies- (No idea why they're bugging me in the dead of winter…) Go away and try later... You might have better luck...

A/N: I kept sneezing... but, despite that, I've decided to write more. This chapter is totally dedicated to the most wonderful person in my life! Happy birthday; and keep on gracing your friends—and me—with your friendliness and humor! -Cough- To bad that wonderful person' won't be reading this...

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Nineteen: To Fix Each Other

00000000

With that thought in mind, Inuyasha fell into a peaceful slumber.

00000000

_She wet her lips as she smiled shyly at him. "Uh, hi."_

_Inuyasha gave her a look of confusion. "Hi, yourself. How was your weekend away?"_

_Kikyo's smile turned a little brighter. "Fun; I'm glad I decided to go. . . How was- - -?"_

"_MenouMaru's party?" Inuyasha finished for her, his eyes glazing over with melancholy. "Fun. . ."_

_Kikyo seemed confused at that. "Did you meet- - -?"_

"_Monique? Yeah. . . yeah, she was. . . nice. . . enough."_

_Kikyo was positively bewildered at his behavior now. "Um. . . What's wrong?"_

"_Huh? Oh. . ." Inuyasha eyes lit up as if he had awoken from a slumber. He chuckled at her, "Ah, Kikyo. How have you been?"_

_Kikyo's eyes widened slightly in alarm at his sudden change of attitude. "Oh. . . Good." She bit her lip nervously before changing the way the conversation was going. "Eh. . . Inu- Inuyasha. . . I. . . I don't mean to _bug_ you with this or anything, but. . ."_

_At her sudden pause the hanyou rolled his eyes. "Spit it out, already."_

"_Have you. . . ever considered. . . settling down. . . with someone?"_

The sight of a laughing Rin with Sesshoumaru's arm around her shoulder, rolling his eyes at something he considered 'corny,' and she 'funny.'

The memory of Sesshoumaru whispering something in the girl's ear, the one he had encircled the waist of with his arms - Rin's ear - and her ducking her head before blushing and smiling up at him.

"_No. . ." his voice was the wrong pitch; too fast._

"_Never?" Kikyo prodded._

"_Never. . . Well, maybe once. . ." he admitted. "Or twice. . ." He paused before sighing. "Maybe a lot."_

"_Is there a certain girl you'd do it for? A certain. . . friend?"_

_Inuyasha didn't respond, Kikyo took it as a yes.'_

_Her expression grew hopeful. "Inu- - -"_

_Inuyasha frowned. "No, Kikyo," he finally said._

_Had he been able to take back the words and merely say nothing but instead brush off her comment, he would've. She flinched before she attempted a smile. Failing miserably, her face turned on her and didn't hide her pain._

"_I- I knew it was stupid. . ." she mumbled._

_Inuyasha sighed. "Kikyo, it's not you – really, I swear it isn't. It's, well, everything. I can't just turn around and settle down with someone so suddenly. The press. . . media. . . world viewers. . . How would they react if I. . . a dirty hanyou' did something with no whisper of a warning?" _

_Kikyo nodded her understanding. "I don't want to trouble you. . ."_

_Wincing at the tears in her tone, he managed to reply, "I assume. . . settling down' would include. . . a pup?"_

_She bit her lip but nodded. "That would be the main point. . ."_

"_Then definitely no. Kikyo. . . have you ever considered your age? That you're _under_age? That is reason number one."_

"_What are the other reasons?" Kikyo challenged softly._

_He didn't answer but sighed. "I. . . it's just. . . no, Kikyo."_

_She smiled, kissed his cheek, and announced she was going home._

_As she left, she was sure she heard her heart brake. . ._

00000000

Inuyasha slowly woke up. His brain wasn't registering anything as he sat up. Glancing out the window, reality came crashing with a brush burn. . .

'_Tomorrow night. . ._'

'_Yep._'

'_Should I. . . tell her?_'

'_Now I _know_ you were dropped when you were born. . ._'

'_Keh. . .! We can trust her. . .!Right?_'

His only reply was a sigh from his youkai.

Wrinkling his nose, Inuyasha peered around the room as he searched for his change of clothes.

'_Dresser._'

'_I knew that._'

Getting up, Inuyasha headed over to the nightstand.

'_Dresser!_'

Growling, Inuyasha snapped back,_ 'I _still _knew that!_' as he altered his path and veered to the left, where the narrow one-foot-in-width dresser sat.

'_Ri-i-ight._'

Inuyasha imaged himself strangling the voice as he changed in more comfortable clothes.

Mentally groaning, Inuyasha seemed to pout.

'_I really hate Menou-bastard-ru._'

'_Could've guessed. . . How the hell did you come up with that _name'

He ignored the voice.

In total boredom, Inuyasha watched the sun slowly crawl inch by inch from its low position after a sigh of long suffering. He had woken up a little earlier than usual today. . .

00000000

The door swung open and Inuyasha was greeted with Kagome's smile. "Brought your breakfast!"

"Keh! I ain't that blind, wench."

Kagome groaned as she came in and plopped on his somewhat messy bed. "I'm going to think of a way to get you to stop using that word – it shouldn't even be in your vocabulary – you're a successful actor!" 

"Correction: _was_ a successful actor."

Kagome rolled her blue orbs. "Uh-_huh_. So, you call getting mobbed at a fast food restaurant _un_successful?"

Inuyasha snorted.

"I'm surprised we weren't jumped by fan girls at the park," Kagome mused.

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "There _ain't_ no one there that's a 'fan,' wench. Only kids."

"Whatever. . . Hey, we drifted off the subject."

"What was the subject?"

"You using the word 'ain't'."

"Hmm. . . yeah, I'm not seeing how that a problem or subject. . ."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'll get you to stop using it, Inuyasha. Just wait and see."

"Wench?" 

"Yeah?"

"I'm hungry."

"Oh. . ."

"So. . ." Inuyasha prodded as he motioned to the tray she had placed beside her on the bed.

"Yeah?"

"Breakfast?"

"Hmm. . ."

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted. "Believe it or not, I _am_ hungry."

"Really? Now what should I do with this bit of information?"

"_Keh_! You're infuriating!"

"Ankie."

Inuyasha froze as he pinned her with a stare. " '_Ankie_'?! And you yell at me? That ain't even a word!"

Kagome coughed indelicately. "My brother's girlfriend uses it."

"Oh, Kami, help me."

Kagome grinned at him. "Come on. It's not that bad. I slipped."

"We'll need to fix_ your _vocabulary, too," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome couldn't help but giggle. "We'll fix each other."

Inuyasha couldn't stop the heat from filtering in his cheeks. "Keh."

Kagome smiled as she handed him his tray. "So-o-o, Inuyasha, let's see what I'll ask you this time. . . Huh, would you believe that I can't think of anything to- - - Wait! I have one."

She turned so that she was facing him as he stuffed mouthfuls of breakfast into his mouth.

"Ugh." Kagome wrinkled her nose but asked, "How much do you trust me?"

Inuyasha slowed in his ferocious shoveling and looked up at her. "Uh. . . mi'd ay amrout," he paused to swallow. "Uh. . . keh, hell, I don't know." He crinkled his brows and thought. "Well, I know I trust you. . ."

Kagome nodded encouragingly as he continued. "So I'd say I trust you a lot."

Kagome grinned. "Well," she stood and unlocked the door. Inuyasha growled, stalked over, opened it, and returned to eating.

The nurse cleared her throat. "I suppose I should tell you that Sango was so excited about some breakthrough' you and she had that you're now going to have two sessions with her now a day."

Quickly, she slipped through the door, holding it open, to see his reaction and, if need be, to make a quick getaway.

It came slowly. First, he looked horrified. Like some nightmare had become reality. Then, his expression turned thoughtful – which surprised Kagome. And, finally, he looked peeved.

"Damn," he muttered.

Kagome smiled, giggled, said good-bye, and left.

00000000

"Okay, now, just like we did yesterday, I want this to go smoothly. I'm going to ask you a question, you answer it, and then I ask another one. When that's done, I'll think of something else."

Inuyasha rolled his bright eyes in reply.

"Where were you born?"

"Keh, that's a stupid question. In a hospital."

"Inuyasha- - -!"

"Keh! You asked, I answered. Now shut-up and let me ask you something."

Sango snorted at his totally serious retort.

"Remember that letter you said you got not too long ago? What was in it?" 

Sango hesitated for a second. "It was nothing. It merely stated that my mother was growing pretty sick." She paused to swallow audibly and give a slight shake of her head. "It's nothing. . ." laughing it off, she waved at him as if shooing a fly. "Nothing, whatsoever. . ."

Inuyasha could smell her distress, so didn't push it farther, less she break down and start a water-work show. . . something he wasn't up to dealing with at that point.

Sniffling, Sango forced a smile. "So, did you have any old flames?"

Freezing, Inuyasha's mind flew back in time.

_She begged; she pleaded; and he had given in. Date number one had proceeded quickly after, too._

_She had told him she wanted to see what it was like to eat at a 'movie-star' restaurant and travel home in a limousine. Needless to say, she got her wish._

_Kikyo enjoyed herself._

_Inuyasha didn't. . ._

"No," Inuyasha's tone suggested that it was a snap. Logic said it was a near-croak.

Sango tilted her head. "Okay. . . your turn."

"How. . ." Inuyasha cut himself off and swallowed what he was going to ask – _How long has your mother been sick?_ Instead, he finished by saying, "Is your. . . sister doing?"

Sango's face registered confusion. "Inuyasha? I don't have a sister, I have a brother."

The hanyou nodded in agreement, as if that had been what he said. "Yeah?"

Sango shrugged. "Fine. He doesn't seem suited to a life of youkai exterminating, though."

It took a few moments for Inuyasha brain to register the words. "Wait. . . he exterminates youkai?"

"Yeah, I told you that already."

"Must not have heard. . ."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Actually, my whole family does – myself included. But after a little while, I decided that I was interested in psychology, as well. So, I started changing my courses in High School, and about when I turned 18 a few moths ago, Mr. Dai said that he had a turn in my career that he could give me. I took it, and here I am."

"Mm, yeah, so you used to exterminate _youkai_? Isn't that a little illegal?"

Sango snorted. "No, we exterminated youkai pests. You know, lesser youkai? In animal forms? Who have no human form?"

Inuyasha's ears flattened. "Keh, you're still killing _youkai_."

Sango gave him a look. "Why would you care- - - Oh, wait, you're hanyou, aren't you?"

Inuyasha shot her a 'duh' look.

Sango's cheeks blossomed in color. "Uh. . . sorry?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Whatever."

"So. . . tell me something about you."

'_So much for questions._' Inuyasha, however, kept that thought unspoken.

"Not much _to _tell."

"There's gotta be something," Sango prodded,

Inuyasha gave a long-suffering sigh that was directed at the psychiatrist. "My brother's probably found his mate."

"Have you met her?"

"Met her?" Inuyasha retorted, "Keh! She practically _lives_ with us!"

"What's her name?"

"Keh, none of your damn business."

"Okay. . . tell me more."

"I'm bored."

"Anything else?"

". . . I'm really bored."

Sango sighed. "Okay. . ."

00000000

Kagome stuck out her tongue, despite the fact that it looked extremely immature and childish. "Baka, it was a _question_, there's no need to bark like that."

"Keh. . . it was a damn stupid one, if you ask me."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Will you just answer it?"

"Hell, no! I've had enough of people prying for one day!"

"If you don't then you won't get your lunch." Kagome's tone was even, leaving a no-nonsense feeling.

"Hell! Fine, wench! Yes, okay?"

"Really?"

"Hell, wench, you ask too many questions! Yes, really!" Inuyasha sighed in annoyance. "Why would I lie about that?"

". . . Forever? Really?"

"Yeah, youkai are extremely careful when choosing a mate. If they aren't, then they're stuck with someone they may not want to spend forever with."

"Wow. . ." Kagome breathed in awe. "That would be like in a fairy tale. . ."

"Keh, no it ain't! What if I get stuck with some old hag?"

Kagome's eyebrow arched. "Then it's your fault for sleeping with her."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest before snapping it shut. "Then I don't have to worry," he grumbled.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You're being mean."

He snorted before replying, "Mean how? You brought it up. Remember?"

Kagome stuck out her tongue. "You need to be quiet, now. . . You're being mean to _me_!"

Inuyasha snorted again.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure I _really _hurt your feelings," he muttered.

Kagome gave a sigh of long suffering. "I'm leaving now. Okay?"

The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

"Keh! Not like you need my permission," he grumbled.

The nurse rolled her eyes with a quiet giggle. "Then I'll see you later."

Inuyasha didn't reply but stalked over to the door and opened it when Kagome unlocked it, dirty lunch tray at hand.

With an exaggerated sigh at the hanyou, Kagome left with a wave.

When the door automatically locked, Inuyasha made his way over to the barred window to gaze and sat on the edge of his mattress. The sun was high up, signifying it was around one.

Leaning back against the wall, Inuyasha crossed his legs on the bed and entwined his arms.

'_Tomorrow night. . ._'

That one thought gnawed away at his mind. . .

'_Kagome couldn't help but giggle. "We'll fix each other."_

'_Fix each other?_' Inuyasha mused, then sighed. '_That's harder to do than you might think, Kagome. . ._'

00000000

**Did you know that reviews are what keeps me going? No…? Well, try reviewing and see if I update again by this weekend. :)**

**Ja ne!**


	20. Dog Pound

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: . . . Nope, still not feeling up to writing one . . . go back two chapters if you're really interested in reading about how I (sadly) don't own Inu 'n' tachi.

A/N: Twee! Another new installment!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty: Dog Pound

00000000

'_Fix each other?_' Inuyasha mused, then sighed. '_That's harder to do than you might think, Kagome. . ._'

00000000

There was a long, exasperated sigh. "Again?"

"Please?"

"Kagome, this is getting out of hand. . ."

Kagome clasped her hands at her chin and let her lip slip out in a pretty pout. "_Please_? I'll be your friend forever?"

The other rolled their eyes. "This would be the third day." For emphasis, she added, "And three is a big number. . . it isn't even supposed to happen _once_."

"That's okay." Kagome shrugged. "It's really affecting him. He really needs this, Ayumi."

Ayumi let out a long moan. "Fine. _One_ more time. After this, he's staying here in the afternoon."

Kagome gave Ayumi a quick friendly hug. "Thank you s-o-o much! You don't know how much it means to me that you're covering for me!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Kagome beamed before turning and leaving, ready to take Inuyasha out, again, for one of his 'afternoons of fun'. . . after breakfast and lunch, that is.

'_Where should I take him today?_'

A smile crept up on her face. She knew the _perfect _place.

00000000

Kagome had barely pulled her card through the scanner before the door was opened.

"Now what?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I always make sure to spend time with you in the afternoon."

Inuyasha groaned. "Not another 'afternoon of fun.' Those are going to kill you." 

Kagome's chin rose as she retorted, "Well, ex-_cuse_ me for trying to get you to have fun in the afternoon instead of staying inside this room all day."

"Keep preaching and I might put you in a temple. . ."

"Oh, be quiet." Kagome slapped his arm but smiled. "Baka, why can't I get mad?"

" 'Cause. . . I'm adorable?"

Kagome rolled her eyes again. "Oh, yes. The absolute _cutest_."

"The best," Inuyasha agreed.

Kagome snorted and grumbled, "Too bad I can't take that back. . ."

"Oi! What are you saying? That I'm _not_ cute?"

Kagome didn't answer, but turned and motioned for Inuyasha to follow – which he grudgingly did.

He wasn't very happy when his youkai snorted. '_Sucker._'

For once, Inuyasha didn't argue.

00000000

"Wench. . ."

"Oh, come on! This is fun."

"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed. "I have my idea of fun, and you have yours. There's nothing wrong with that. . . But _this_, unfortunately for you, is _not _my idea of fun, I have to admit. . ."

"Ah, come on; you're over exaggerating! This _is_ fun, you're merely a grump."

Inuyasha snorted. "Uh-huh, I'm sure. . ."

"No, you are! Who couldn't love this- - -?" Kagome abruptly stopped her self as she wiped her cheek. "Bad! No, you don't do that."

The little dog wriggled out of her arms and thumped onto the ground by her legs.

"Whoosh a good puppy? Who? Who? That's right! You are!" Kagome squealed as the little bundle yapped in a playful position with its rear in the air.

"Come 'ere."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he leaned against the wall. He watched as the dark puppy bounded over to the kneeling Kagome and gnawed on her hand like a chew toy – or tried to.

"Hey, that's not nice! If you want to chew on something then go chew on your _chew_ rope. That's what it's there for."

The hanyou rolled his eyes at her. "Like she's going to listen."

Kagome shrugged as she continued to play with the dog. "She might, you never know."

The puppy rolled onto her back, tongue lolling out, before licking her small snout – or what she could reach with her small tongue – and closed her eyes in a doze.

"You killed her. Are you happy?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome giggled. "I didn't _kill_ her! She's little. Bouts of play and energy like that exhaust babies like her."

"Sure, sure, that's what you say now, but when she doesn't wake up, I will _not_ be held responsible for your actions. . . now can we leave?"

Sighing, Kagome scratched the sleeping animal behind the ears before standing up and stretching her back. "Sure, it's getting late, anyway. . ."

They left the small room for 'picking your pet' and made their way to the front desk.

A small woman who was working on some paperwork for the adoption of an animal looked up at them when they approached, her glasses slipping down her nose. "I see the puppy was not for you?"

Kagome smiled and Inuyasha rolled his eyes and grumbled inaudibly, "We were never gonna _buy_ anything. . ."

"Yes, we were just window shopping, anyway." 

The woman nodded and gave them a tolerant, polite smile. "I see. . . well, have a nice day and be sure to come back here if you're ever interested in buying again."

Kagome nodded and Inuyasha grumbled again. "We still weren't going to buy anything."

Thrusting her eyes upward, Kagome groaned and tugged Inuyasha out of the store. "You could have been nicer," she chided.

"Keh!"

Kagome couldn't help but smile as they made their way back to the car.

'_Keh, stupid wench. . . taking me to see dogs, of all things. . ._'

'_Did you have fun?_'

Inuyasha mentally snorted in reply as he opened his door and slammed it shut when he was in. The car started and Kagome made her way to the exit before pulling out and heading back to the center. Inuyasha purposely ignored the question.

'_Come on, you had to have learned something or. . . or something._'

'_Yeah, right. 'Course I do._'

'_. . . So you are thinking bout something._'

'_. . . Am not._'

". . . Just spit it out!"

Blinking, Inuyasha found himself surprised that the voice had suddenly come out of his head.

"Inuyasha? I know you heard me." She sighed. "Will you answer?"

"Huh?" he deadpanned.

"I said that I knew there was something bugging you and to just spit it out!"

"No."

"Come on!"

"No," he refused stubbornly.

Changing tactics, Kagome's eyes watered as she gave him a puppy-dog-pout. "Please?"

Cursing the part of him that couldn't resist such a thing, he mentally growled at himself before sighing. "It's just. . . being in there made me think of something."

"What?" Kagome encouraged.

"That. . . that pup back there. . . it was a half breed."

"How do you know?"

"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed. "I could smell it, that's how!"

"Oh. . . well, okay, then; continue."

"Keh. . . well, I guess it was being in such a place like that. . . a pound- - -"

"I prefer shelter," Kagome piped.

With a roll of his bright eyes, Inuyasha continued, "- - -and having the mutt around, looking for someone to come and adopt him, or save him, what the hell ever. . . it made me think that I was like him. . . stuck in a poun- - - I mean 'shelter' and being a half breed; an. . . an 'outcast.' "

Kagome's eyes widened as she gazed at him. "And is this half breed' looking for someone to come and. . . 'save' him?"

He didn't answer, but his expression was enough.

Swallowing, Kagome tried to smile. "Would it make this. . . 'half breed' happy if. . . I 'saved' him?"

Inuyasha's eyes slowly wandered to Kagome, who had her head slightly turned in his direction, still watching traffic out of the corner of her eyes.

She didn't push him any further as he gazed at her, eyes showing what his body didn't and his mind denied – vulnerability.

He regained his composure, crossed his arms, and huffed. "Keh. . .! I guess it wouldn't be. . . too bad to be. . . you know. . . saved." He furiously tried to fight down the raging pinkness that fought for his cheeks.

Kagome smiled slightly as her eyes went back to the road. "Okay."

Inuyasha tried not to smile, as well.

He failed.

00000000

"_Keh_!"

Growling, Kagome mimicked the irritated hanyou, crossing her arms and doing her best to glare with a flame in her gaze. "Keh!"

Inuyasha couldn't contain the snort as he calmed down some. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

He snorted again.

"Come on, please?" 

"No," he growled.

"Pretty please?"

"Ugly no."

"What?"

"You heard me."

". . . _Ugly_ no? What in the world is that?"

"Keh, the response to 'pretty please.' "

Kagome sighed. ". . . You can be a baka sometimes, ya know?"

" 'Course I do. I get that from my brother al least three times a day."

"Mm, smart brother." 

"Wha- - - Oi!"

Kagome rolled her eyes before returning to the earlier subject. "Why not?"

" 'Cause you don't have my dinner."

"It's not time to eat."

"Then why should you get a question?"

". . .Because."

"No, then."

"Just one, please?" once again, she pulled the puppy-dog-pout.

"Wha- - - oi! Fine, one."

"Thank you!"

"Whatever."

"Okay. . . now, you told me you had six friends, right? Do you still keep in contact with them?"

"Most of 'em."

"Which don't you?"

"The brat, the bastard, and Kikyo."

"Okay, I need names, not nick' names."

"Fine, Shippou, MenouMaru, and Kikyo."

"That's better; now why?"

"We just. . ." he shrugged, looking away, "I don't know, I guess we drifted apart."

She could tell he wasn't telling the whole truth. "Why don't you hang out with Shippou anymore?"

"I just told you!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Fine, but I want details."

Inuyasha growled in annoyance. "I didn't like that brat. . . he thought we could be brothers and I already had an _older_ bastard-of-a-brother, I didn't want a little one."

"Well, that was mean. Now what about MenouMaru?"

". . . Nothing."

"Really?"

". . .Yeah. . . nuthin'."

"Mm-hmm, for some reason I think you're lying."

"Would I lie to you?"

"Maybe."

"Fine, he did something unforgivable. Happy?" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome knew she was treading on thin ice, but she slowly asked, as if talking to a three-year-old, "Can I ask what he did?"

Inuyasha didn't reply, but his expression was enough.

"Can I ask. . . if he's part of why you're here?" she used the same tone again.

His expression darkened. Kagome didn't know if it was from pain or anger.

"Okay. . ." she tried to smile suddenly as she said the first thing that she knew would calm him down. "I'm bringing in a coloring book tomorrow for you!"

He blinked as his head swung around so he could look at her. "_What_?"

"You heard me!"

"Keh! I ain't a little pup, wench!"

Kagome shrugged. "So?"

"That's stupid. . ." he growled before grumbling, "Can you believe this wench?"

"Hey- - - oh, sorry, I have to go! But I'll be back in just a little while after I get Ellen to Silent book to take you to Sango's!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Cheerful wench."

Kagome beamed.

Inuyasha snorted.

00000000

**I wasn't going to end it there. I was going to write a little more with Kagome leaving but oh, well. **

**R&R!**

**Ja ne!**


	21. Things Best Left Alone

Disclaimer: Well, Kagome 'belongs' to Inuyasha, Sango 'belongs' to Miroku, Shippou 'belongs' to, um . . . come to think of it . . . who _does_ Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippou, Kirara, Kaede, and Kikyo 'belong' to? Left-behinds? Okay, I claim them!

A/N: Well, you get a peek into what happened to Inuyasha. . . just a peek, mind you.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-One: Things Best Left Alone

00000000

Kagome beamed.

Inuyasha snorted.

00000000

Grumbling under his breath, Inuyasha _tried_ to convince himself he wasn't counting the seconds that Kagome had been gone.

'_One-hundred-fifty-six._'

But he wasn't succeeding.

'_Damn it! Where the hell is she? She should be back by now? Was it a mugger?_'

'_. . . Okay, think about this: we're in a mental hospital with tip-of-the-top security – or so they think. So, tell me O-Smart-One, just _how_ is a random person going to mug a nurse – who doesn't have a wallet on her, most likely – and get away unseen,_' his youkai pointed out.

'_Ever hear of youkai? They're actually quite common nowadays._'

'_. . . Youkai?_'

'_Yeah._'

'_. . . I give up._'

'_Good, now where was I? Two-hundred? Or maybe three-hundred?_'

His contemplations were interrupted by a 'click' that was followed by the handle turning. Everything happened in a blur from that point.

Inuyasha managed to leap up and over to the door in .001 seconds – record timing yet – open the door, and stand there glowering at the door knob like it was poison.

"Inuyasha, no matter what you say, the door won't hurt you."

His eyes didn't move. "Wench, what did I tell you?"

Innocently, she asked. "What about it?"

"Doors are bad," he growled.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "If you don't want me to open the door, then try to open it when I get here."

Inuyasha pulled his gaze away from the doorknob to look at her. "I was busy."

"Busy with what?"

". . .Nothing that interests you," Inuyasha mumbled as he turned and stormed back to his bed, his face a dull pink.

Kagome sighed. "Inuyasha? Why are you doing that? You're going to leave, anyway. You have a session with Sango, remember?"

Snorting, he remarked dryly, "Sure, of course."

"You do?"

"Uh-huh."

"Really now?"

"Yep, do you?"

Kagome's eyebrows arched. "Yeah, I told _you_, remember?"

"So you're. . . _positive_ you remember?"

Glaring in exasperation, Kagome put her hands on her hips. "_Yes_!"

"Okay, then let's go." Standing up, he went through the open door and looked over his shoulder. "Comin'?"

Kagome blew her cheeks out and tried not to scream. Letting the air out in a puff of breath, she hurried to catch up with the hanyou.

Slowing her pace so that it matched Inuyasha's, she pointed out, "Rude-much."

"Thanks."

Unable to resist, Kagome turned and stuck her tongue out at the irritating hanyou.

"Better keep that in there, or I'll find a good use for it."

Kagome snapped her mouth shut – tongue safely inside – as her cheeks filtered color. '_W-what?_'

"Inu. . .yasha?"

"Hmm?"

"Uh. . . you just said, uh. . ."

"Yeah, and I meant it."

"Really?" she managed to squeak.

"Uh-huh."

'_Huh- hentai!_' Kagome's mind squealed.

Biting her tongue, Kagome kept her mouth shut as she tried to convince herself that she merely understood wrong.

Arriving at Sango's office, Kagome said good-bye quickly before fleeing, trying to get Inuyasha's words off her mind.

"_Better keep that in there, or I'll find a good use for it."_

'_Find a good. . . 'use' for it?_'

Storming down the hall, thoughtful scowl plastered to her bright face, Kagome decided not to try and ponder his words. Inuyasha probably hadn't meant it. . . _that_ way.

'_Besides, I'm a nurse. I work here. It's illegal to have something like that between a patient and an employee. And anyway, Inuyasha doesn't see me that way. Kami, I'm losing my mind._'

Trying to relieve herself of any other thoughts that Inuyasha gave her, Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, cleared her mind, and continued on down the hall.

00000000

"Inuyasha, how has your day gone?"

Trying not to glower, he answered, "Keh, you should know; it hasn't been that long since I was last here."

Sango chuckled heartily at that and pulled out a notepad and pen. "Lets get started, shall we? I'm just going to listen to you."

"Ugnh, okay."

There was a minute pause and Inuyasha sat there, immobile, unblinking, looking totally bored.

Finally, Sango got exasperated. "Aren't you going to say anything?!"

Inuyasha blinked once before replying, "Hi."

Sango bit her lip and looked to the ceiling for a short minute before returning her gaze to Inuyasha. "Hi to you, too. But what I meant was- - -Here, I know. Tell me about you and your past. Tell me about this 'MenouMaru' and your other friends."

"Not much _to_ tell."

In a somewhat desperate act, Sango shrugged. "That's okay. _Any_thing will do." Mentally she added, _at this point_.

Sighing in oh-God-she's killing-me' way, Inuyasha decided to give her a little bit of courtesy. "I hate Menou-bastard-ru, I hate the brat, Shippo, Kikyo's annoying, Naraku's also in this prison – as is Kouga – and Miroku can be a bastard." Just a_ little_ bit courtesy.

"Oh. . . Inuyasha, what happened between you and Kikyo and MenouMaru? Why do you hate them so much?"

'_. . . Do you want to tell?_'

'_I don't know._' Inuyasha's remark was flat, almost as though a puppet had said it.

"What happened? Inuyasha? Why are you so hurt? Are you hurt?"

In a split second, Inuyasha's mind called upon the past, pulled it in for the hanyou to see, remember. He was shrouded in the memories, and he felt a bit of pain from them, too.

Everything flashed before his eyes, everything blended and molded together, and everything from the past – what happened – replayed itself in half a second. It was as though he had been thrust into time to relive it all again.

Inuyasha's eyes glazed over and he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his gaze on the floor.

"Inuyasha? Are you still with me here?"

He didn't know where the words came from, they just came - quietly whispered. "It started two years ago. I told Monique about MenouMaru's shady past. He was an assassin for a few years – one of the best. Never let a client down. He killed a lot of innocent – some human. But he changed and gave all that up to become what he is today. He managed to somehow make it that no one ever knew what he used to be – but I found out. Not exactly how I did, but after awhile, everything just seemed to. . . click. MenouMaru had no family. Only money. All that changed when he met Monique, though.

"Monique was from America. She had just graduated from High School and was coming here to visit a distant relative; that was the main reason. . . she also loved it here. . . But Rin was a friend of hers and it didn't take long for MenouMaru to meet her. They become a couple a little afterward. I'd never met Monique until MenouMaru's birthday a year later. She wasn't supposed to stay that long, but she was really serious about MenouMaru and decided to stay here with him for a while longer – maybe even become his mate. It was then that I told Monique about MenouMaru's past. She wasn't happy and left. . . she fled straight back to America two days after that incident. And during those two days, MenouMaru left millions of calls, asking for Monique to pick up, answer, see him, anything so he could explain.

"Needless to say, he was pissed at me. There's a saying – 'Hell hath no fury' or something. . . Well, Hell wasn't scary. . . MenouMaru was. I don't think it's possible for anyone else to get as mad as he and live. He did everything to make my life hell. He swore that Monique was his soul mate and that he would rather die than say good-bye to her. He went to the limits to make me pay. Nothing would even the scores in his eyes.

Nothing.

"He started smudging my reputation, and I did my best to fix it as fast as he was ruining it. He even. . . Well, one day I came home and- - -"

'_No more!_' A voice inside him hissed. '_Enough! Stop it, she's heard enough, she can figure the rest out on her own if she wants to know that badly._'

The voice wasn't his youkai. . . it was something else. . .

Inuyasha abruptly stopped, his jaw snapping shut in mid-sentence.

He blinked and his eyes regained their bright composure. He looked down at the floor, unblinking, but thinking. '_What the hell did I almost do?!_'

He sat up and sent a glare at Sango.

She was sitting, hand over paper, poised to write more. She was looking at him through her thick fringe of bangs.

"You can continue, you know."

Snarling, Inuyasha leapt to his feet. "And you can go to _hell_! _Rot_ in hell, bitch!" He knew that was a bit. . . unnecessary, but his temper had snapped at the thought of how close he had come to telling her – well – everything.

Sango looked up from her notes and blinked – surprised. "Inuyasha, what did I do- - -?"

"Just shut up!" In a fit of rage, he whirled and opened the door – nearly taking off the hinges – stormed out, and slammed it shut – not all too sure if it had cracked in half or broke completely.

He snarled at anyone who tried to ask him what he was doing with out an employee and scared them half to death at his ferocity.

He didn't know exactly where he was going, and he didn't care, either. He just needed. . . out of the room where Sango was.

'_What in hell possessed me to tell her all that?_'

He slowed to a stop. '_No idea where I'm going, but I think I'm going to head back to my. . . room. Might as well sit over there and brood._'

So he turned and resumed his storming, only in the direction of where his room was.

In only a few minutes, he slammed the door that led to the hall were his cell was shut and made his way over to his room.'

He tried to knob only to find it locked.

'_Oh, yeah; high-tech security._'

Sighing, he flopped down in front of his door and leaned his head against the hard metal, exhausted.

'_How the hell did all that come out? Was it _you'

His youkai snorted. _I'm innocent this time. I thought you knew what you were saying._'

'_For once you couldn't have opened your mouth to say something?_'

'_I thought you knew what you were saying!_'

'_. . . But I didn't. Not until I said what I did. I just sorta. . . slipped. But I can't slip again, I just can't. I don't want anyone getting close, I don't want anyone to understand._'

'_That's understandable, especially after what MenouMaru did._'

Inuyasha snarled. '_Don't say his name. . . I hate him. . . bastard. . . I could kill him, I really could. . . But how _did _I say all that without really noticing?_'

'_There are some things even I can't tell you._' Inuyasha's youkai sounded grim. '_But I can guess that a part of you is fighting against your will; a part of you wants someone to know – to make it all better._'

Inuyasha had to suppress a whine. '_But I don't want anyone to know; I don't want – no, I _can't_ want anyone to help._'

'_Because of MenouMaru? I guess that's. . . somewhat logical._'

Inuyasha put his elbows on his knees, folded his hands – kinda looking like praying hands – and let his forehead fall against them. '_I do know one thing, Sango ain't gonna get a chance to learn anything else._'

'_And how are you going yo make that happen? Apparently, you can't trust yourself anymore._'

'_I'm going to make sure it never happens again by never going to see Sango again._'

00000000

Kagome smiled as she made her way to Sango's office. Her mind had cleared totally and she was no longer worried about what Inuyasha had said.

Reaching her destination, she opened the door and looked in, forgetting to knock. "Anyone here?"

Looking around, she saw Sango on a chair in a corner. "Uh. . . Sango?"

The addressed girl jerked her head up and her expression turned somewhat relieved. "Kagome," she breathed. "I need your help." Sango staggered up from her chair and made her way over to Kagome.

"What is it?"

"Inuyasha?"

An icy chill ran through her spine – he wasn't in the room, come to think of it. . . "Where is he?" Her voice was demanding.

Sango looked ready to cry. "He _left_! He left on me! In the middle of a session, too!" She sighed. "Maybe I'm not cut out for my job."

Kagome smiled reassuringly. "No, of course you are. I'll go find Inuyasha and talk to him. I'm sure he'll come around. But will you tell me what happened?"

Sango sighed and looked at her hands. "I think I pushed him too hard. . . I think he kinda. . . snapped for a little bit, there. . . Kagome, he snapped on me, too. I think he lost his temper after awhile."

Kagome smiled. She knew what it could be like on the receiving end of a temper from Inuyasha. . . kinda.

"I'll talk to him, Sango. But you better tell Kaede; she'll want to know."

Sango nodded and left the room, Kagome following. They went separate ways in the hall heading for their destination.

00000000

Inuyasha exhaled and looked up. He could smell Kagome.

He heard her approaching the door and immediately he stood and went to the door to open it for her. He came face to face with her.

00000000

**Oh, lookies. Some of Inu-kins' past. …Review?**

**Ja ne!**


	22. Cracked Shell

Disclaimer: You'll never get my money from me! Never! Never, ever, ever! Wanna know why? Because I (:random person: do not) own Inuyasha! -Face blanks- Okay, who here said "do not" when I was talking? Who. . . ? Ah, it was _you_! -Chases after random person while holding a completely empty piggy bank-

A/N: Uh. . . sorry 'bout the disclaimer. I had eaten about forty airheads before and was going on a sugar spree. . . and now I'm (as always) too lazy to change it.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Two: Cracked Shell

00000000

He came face to face with her.

00000000

A couple second passed, and nothing happened.

Finally, Kagome cleared her throat. "Uh. . . _so-o-o-o_, how-was-your-session-with-Sango?-I-know-she-told-me-you-snapped-and-left-but- - -"

Inuyasha couldn't help but tug his mouth in a half-smile. "Do you always talk so fast?"

"Uh- - -Well, you see- - -uh. . ." Sighing, she relaxed and mumbled, "I heard you left in the middle of your session with Sango."

"Yeah; what of it?"

"Mind telling me what happened?"

Huffing, Inuyasha turned his head. "Keh, none of your business."

"Please?"

'_Come on, what are you going to lose by telling her?_

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course; why would I ask if I didn't?"

Inuyasha resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Just checking."

Kagome looked expectantly at Inuyasha.

There was a pause.

"_Well_!?"

Trying not to smirk, the hanyou turned to face Kagome. "Just checking your loyalty to the subject. If you want to know what happened, I'll tell you. . ." He drifted off and inhaled deeply before letting it out.

Another pause.

Kagome couldn't help but twitch her eyebrow. "Stop dawdling!"

"Okay, okay!"

Rolling his shoulders to loosen the tenseness, Inuyasha leaned against the wall.

"Are you going to tell me?!" Kagome demanded.

"Maybe."

Her eyes narrowed. '_What a stubborn- - -!_'

"I couldn't take it."

"What? What couldn't you take?"

Inuyasha's voice was so soft she strained to hear. His face was unreadable, his shoulders back. His pride was definitely taking a beating. "I- I don't really know. Everything was just. . . piled up, I guess. . . it burst. I'm lucky I stopped in time."

"In time for. . . what?"

He didn't answer – she wasn't surprised, everything had to be coaxed out of him.

"Inuyasha," she tried again, "what do you mean by you 'stopped in time'?"

His ears seemed to droop. "I almost told her of my past."

Kagome smiled slightly. "Is that so bad?"

His expression was answer enough.

"Um, I, uh, hate to intrude, but if you want to vent, I'll listen. . . if you want me to." Her cheeks flooded with color and she had no idea why.

"I hate him."

Well, _that_ was unexpected. "What?"

"I _hate _him." Inuyasha's voice was cold and harsh.

"Who?"

Inuyasha's youkai butted in. '_How 'bout we tell her about- - -_'

"Remember how I told you that MenouMaru and I didn't get along?" He paused and didn't even look over in her direction to see if she nodded before continuing. "Well, there's a reason."

"I knew there was one- - -"

"I found out something from his past that he had been trying to erase. . . he was an assassin." Not even stopping at Kagome sharp gasp, he kept talking. "He had a girlfriend, Monique. I told her a few stories about what he used to be. . . things I dug up from the Internet. Apparently he was one of the best there was. He could kill anyone – anyone at all, even in the government – and get away with it. There were a few shady torture stories. . . that's what I told Monique about. . . I felt bad for her. . . her eyes told me to stop after my first sentence, but I continued to tell her nightmares. . ." Laughing stiffly Inuyasha's voice grew distant. "All because of a stupid, _stupid_ fight I had with the bastard, I ended up scarring an innocent girl. She left for her home, for America, soon after. MenouMaru tried to contact her, but when he found out what I told her, he gave up and made it his life's mission to make me pay."

Looking at his nurse, Inuyasha sneered. "See? I'm a _monster_! I betrayed the closest thing I had to a friend and hurt someone innocent. How do you feel?!" '_Go away. . . please, just go away; everything will be alright when I'm alone,_' he mentally told her, hoping she would somehow hear and listen. It didn't matter if she left or not, he was used to feeling isolated; he knew how it worked. . . friendship was something he didn't know much about. "Sick?!"

She _did_ feel sick. . . he actually _did_ that? But. . . '_But something in his eyes is. . . _begging _for something. He won't admit it, but he. . . he feels worse than I do about this._' Kagome's mind reeled with all the new information, and before she could think about what she was doing, she reached out her hand - slowly, very, _very_ slowly – until she was stroking one of his cheeks. The fact that he didn't pull away allowed her heart and mind to know that he wasn't a monster' at all.

She didn't even know she was crying until she felt the lukewarm, salty water plop onto her collar bone and started dribbling down.

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha reached over and wiped her cheeks free of tears. "Stupid wench. Why are you crying?"

Giving a half-restrained sob, Kagome tried to laugh – only to sob again. "I'm sorry!"

"Keh, sorry for what?" Pulling the nurse close to himself, Inuyasha slid down the wall and sat with Kagome on his lap.

Her cheeks burned as she pushed her face into Inuyasha's shirt. "Inuyasha, this is sorta. . . um, inappropriate."

"Not really, I have to comfort crying girls. And you're cryin', ain't ya?"

". . . Yeah. . ."

"And you're a girl. . . right?"

Slapping his chest without looking up, Kagome mumbled, "Baka. . ."

"And proud of it!" the hanyou huffed.

Kagome couldn't control a small giggle that escaped her.

"Oi! No laughin' at me!"

That only made her giggle harder.

"I mean it, wench! Stop!"

Her giggle escalated to a full-blown burst of laughter.

"Oi! Stop it, stop it, stop it _now_!"

"Okay. . . ! Okay. . . !" Kagome managed between giggles, calming down as she sat up, pinkening as she remembered _where_ she was, exactly.

" Bout time," Inuyasha grumbled as he crossed his arms in a huff.

Biting her tongue top keep from laughing again, a sudden thought struck her. "Oh!" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a medium-sized shell.

"What's that?" Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at it.

"My brother gave it me. He found it at the shore a few days ago when he was there with his class on a field trip."

"Okay, now what is it?"

"Why don't you look and find out?"

Snorting, he remarked, "I'd rather not."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome replied, "I'm showing you whether you like it or not."

"Keh, fine."

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Kagome held up the shell. "What does this look like?"

"Like a. . . shell."

"Har, har, real funny. I know it looks like a shell. But if you look at it, it has a few thin cracks over the top." Flipping the shell so that Inuyasha could view the bottom, she continued. "On the bottom, the cracks get deeper and thicker. This little thing right here is like you, Inuyasha."

Cocking an eyebrow, he examined her hand and the shell. "Why?" he challenged.

"Because you can't see the bottom of the shell, and yet there are so many cracks and other things; but on the top, on the visible side, the cracks are so hard to see you wouldn't even notice them unless you look _real_ close and examine it. Just like you. On first glance you look fine – cranky"- - -That got an "Oi!" out of Inuyasha- - -"but fine. And then you look closely and you see how much damage the shell has undergone and you sit and you wonder what could be _inside_ the scarred shell. After a while, you decide to open it, so very gently, you pry open the protective shell"- - -Kagome started to open the little cracked thing- - - "and once you do, you see the most beautiful treasure of all, you see the shell's inner self, it's true self." Having opened the treasure, Kagome revealed a small pearl.

"You see? You're like this shell in many ways."

Inuyasha blinked at the small thing in Kagome's hand. "Keh, ain't that special."

"You'd be surprised at how special something so seemingly not is."

"Okay, you had me and ya lost me."

Sighing in exasperation, she closed up her treasure and handed it to Inuyasha. "You keep that. When you figure out what I'm talking about, then you can give it back. Deal?"

"Deal," Inuyasha agreed easily.

Nodding, Kagome grinned. "Good, then. Now, are you done venting or is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Nothing, really."

'_Why don't you tell her a little more? It'll help you, I'm sure._'

Inuyasha scowled. '_I've said too much, already. No, I'm done for awhile._'

'_Whatever you say, bozo._'

Kagome, noticing Inuyasha's expression change, asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Just telling him to shut-up," then hanyou grumbled, not really knowing what he was saying.

"Who?"

"Huh?"

"Who were you telling to shut-up?"

"What are you talking about, wench?"

Resisting the urge to stomp her foot in frustration, she replied as calmly as she could, "You told me you were telling someone to shut up when I asked you if something was wrong."

Blinking, he realized who he had been talking about. "Oh, uh, no one."

"Well, I know it's _someone_! Or else how would you tell them to shut-up?"

"I'm telling you it was no one!"

Kagome shook her head stubbornly. "It had to be someone, now who _is_ it?"

"No one!"

"No, it's _some_one!"

"Nuh-uh, it's no one!"

"It's someone!"

"No, it's not! It's no one!"

"Just tell me who it is!"

"Fine!" Inuyasha snapped. "It's. . ." grumbling the rest so she couldn't hear, Inuyasha finished with, "Are you happy now?"

"Wait, _who_ did you say it was?"

"You heard me!"

"No I didn't. Who is it?"

"You better not laugh. . . It's. . . It's my youkai voice."

"Your. . . youkai voice?" Kagome echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah," Inuyasha mumbled. "Every hanyou and youkai has one. . . mine just won't shut-up."

Tugging on a lock of hair, Kagome murmured, "So what does this youkai voice do, exactly?"

"It annoys the hell out of me. . . and it also gives me advice when necessary. . . and it reminds me of things I don't really want to remember half the time to teach me something about youkai laws or something else that's important."

"So you youkai voice is sorta like a conscience?"

Thinking it over a few seconds, Inuyasha slowly replied, "Yeah, it's sorta like a conscience. . . except for the fact that it won't ever shut-up."

Smiling, Kagome softly murmured, "Can it get annoying?"

"_Hell_, yes!"

"Really now?"

"Yeah; _hell_, yeah."

"Does it tell you what you're feeling?"

"Sometimes, but most of the time, it just won't shut-up."

"What does it talk about?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Everything."

"Does it just make conversations with you?"

"Yeah, that when it won't shut-up."

'_Will you stop calling me an 'it_'_? It's insulting!_' his youkai hissed to Inuyasha. '_And stop talking about me behind my back._'

"Just shut-up," Inuyasha grumbled.

"What?"

"Just telling him to shut-up."

Kagome's eyes widened with excitement as she asked, "What'd he say?"

"To stop calling it 'it', and to stop talking behind it's back. . . even thought it's right here."

"What are you going to tell him?"

"To go to hell."

"But then you'd have to go with him."

". . . Then I'll tell him to go gay and he'll no longer be a part of me. . . I hope."

Kagome couldn't hold back her bursts of giggles at Inuyasha's facial expression.

"Oi! What did I tell you about that? No laughin' at me!"

"I. . . can't help. . .it." Laughing harder at his pout, Kagome put a hand over her mouth to try and keep from laughing.

It didn't work.

"I'll teach you who's boss. . ." Inuyasha grumbled loudly.

He didn't think then. He worked on impulse.

He bent his head down and placed his mouth on Kagome's open mouth in a sweet kiss.

00000000

**-Cough- Yeah, so. . . hi?**

**Wya! -dodges angry people attacks-**

**Sorry, this was the perfect chapter ending! Reviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiew for another chapter!**

**Ja ne!**


	23. Questions and a Plan

Disclaimer: -Glare- Shut up and go away. We all know who he belongs to.

A/N: New chapter. . . yay.

AGE:

Inuyasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Three: Questions and a Plan

He bent his head down and placed his mouth on Kagome's open mouth in a sweet kiss.

00000000

_That_ shut her up.

Pulling back in surprise, Kagome's eyes widened as her cheeks brightened. "Uh. . . Inu. . . I- I. . ."

Flustered, Kagome managed to mutter a bye' before whirling and quickly exiting the hall they were standing in.

". . .Um. . ." _'What the hell just happened?_'

'_What?_'

'_What just happened? Why is she leaving?_'

There was a pause as his youkai tried to see how serious his stupid host was. _'She left._'

'_. . . Why?_'

'_What do you mean 'why'? . . .Wait, were you even paying attention to what you were doing_

_Why. . .?_' A small, cold stone of fear placed itself in his gut. _What did I do?_'

'_I thought you knew what you were doing! Do I need to give you a chaperone?_'

'_What did I do?_'

'_I leave you alone to solve your problems for one second and you mess it up. Idiot!_'

'_Shut up and tell me what the hell I did!_' Inuyasha demanded, panicked.

' _. . . What do you think you did?_ _You kissed her._'

'_Oh, that's okay, I only ki- - -_' There was a _very_ long pause. Suddenly, his face flamed to a red dark enough to threaten purple, and his thoughts jumbled each other. '_I. . . kissed. . . her?'_

'_Yeah._'

'_Oh. . . Well, shit._'

Stumbling to a stand, supporting himself with the wall he had been leaning against, Inuyasha decided to find her and. . . well, he'd think of what to do when it happened.

He knew going after her was a bad idea. . . He really did. . . But, like the idiot he was, he followed her scent - looking like a puppy that had lost its master as he sniffed the air indiscreetly.

He had only searched a few seconds when he found her.

She was leaning against a wall, looking incredibly red.

Clearing his throat, Inuyasha tried his voice. "Kagome. . .?"

Hearing him speak, said nurse darkened even more to a maroon, not turning to look at him.

Not being able to resist the temptation, Inuyasha chuckled. "Get any darker, wench, and I'll have to put you on a string, put you on a pine tree and call you a Christmas light."

Kagome slowly turned her head to look at him. Making eye contact, Kagome's eyes darted away.

"Seriously, wench." Inuyasha was now realizing the color was vanishing from his face - which was a relief.

Kagome swallowed before braving another look at him. "I could say the same to you."

"Keh, what'cha talkin' 'bout? I ain't red!"

Kagome shrugged, almost carelessly. "You're right. . . you're maroon."

Sputtering indignantly at her, Inuyasha huffed. "Yeah, _right_!"

Despite herself, Kagome couldn't help but smile and give a small giggle.

After a minute, she calmed down and stood up. "Guess I better get your dinner," she remarked. "C'mon." She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along, their kiss totally forgotten and put away like an old family album to be revisited later.

"Stay here," she ordered as she reached the entrance to the cafeteria. She came back a few minutes later with a full tray.

"Let's go," she murmured as she made her way to his cell, unlocked the door - with Inuyasha opening it - and walked in, Inuyasha grumpily following.

Placing Inuyasha's tray on his stand, Kagome turned. "And now I get a question."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes before sighing. "Ask away."

"Okay. . ." Kagome stopped and thought about what to ask. It seemed she was never going to speak as the long seconds ticked by. Inuyasha slumped onto his bed, his arms bracing himself, as he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And- - -

"Wench. . ." Inuyasha tried to keep his voice level. "Are you done _thinking_?" Unfortunately, he failed.

Miserably.

"Okay; okay! Um. . . oh! I have one! So, Inuyasha. . ." Kagome drifted off again, in thought.

Inuyasha lost his patience. "Here's what I've got to say, how bout _I_ get to ask a question."

Kagome blinked and looked up at him. "But. . . I ask the questions."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Don't you think I feel a little. . . weird, having you digging at me with questions, but I don't know a thing about you?"

Kagome sighed before rolling her eyes. "_Fine_, ask away."

"Where's Miroku?"

". . . Miroku?"

"Yeah, Miroku - you know, my _real_ nurse?"

". . . If you really have to know, he's seeing his sick mother in the hospital - which I think is totally honorable!" Kagome added at Inuyasha's look.

"Keh. . ." Inuyasha's voice was soft. "You think. . . what he's going. . . is _honorable_?

_Idiot_!"

Kagome glared. "It is! He visiting his sick mother- - -"

Inuyasha didn't raise his voice as he interrupted her. "Who died when Miroku was seven."

"- - -and. . . what?" Kagome broke off and asked.

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "Let me say it slowly - Miroku's. . . mother. . . _died_. . . when. . . he. . . was. . . seven."

It took a full minute for that to sink in. When it finally did, Kagome smiled. "Stop joking."

Rolling his eyes at her idiocy, Inuyasha snapped, "Why the hell would I joke?"

Another minute passed.

"So. . . you're not. . .?"

"Joking?" Inuyasha filled in. "No."

Another minute.

"He's not visiting. . .?"

"His mother? No."

Another minute.

"So. . . all this time he's been somewhere else. . . basically partying?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I dunno; maybe."

There was another pause.

Kagome growled. "Great. . . I was tricked into watching you."

"No shit, Sherlock," Inuyasha muttered.

There was another short pause.

"So. . . now my question." Kagome smiled at him, suddenly bright.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and tch'ed at the sudden change of atmosphere - way too happy. . .

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Who do you think is closest to you?"

Inuyasha gave her a look that suggested her head had fallen off and rolled away.

"Like a friend or family member," she enlightened him.

Inuyasha shrugged again. " I dunno." His tone was nonchalant.

His eyes wouldn't meet hers.

His ears were slightly tilted in a hidden droop.

The topic died there.

00000000

There was a hesitant knock at the door and Kaede didn't even glance up form her paperwork as she called, "Come in."

The door opened and she glanced up. "Sango," she murmured, giving a signature to the bottom of a small file before slapping that paper onto her done pile and starting the next one.

"Yes, Mistress Kaede. . . uh. . . there was a slight problem during a session today. . ."

Kaede didn't even bat an eye as she continued to rapidly summarize the month's progress with one of younger patients. "What is it?"

"Well, it's Inuyasha- - -"

Kaede's head snapped up. "What happened?" she demanded.

"Uh. . ." Sango sputtered under the stony stare the elderly woman was giving her. "I. . . I was in the middle of a session with him when he left on me."

"Did he just leave?"

"Well. . ."

"Did he just leave?" Kaede repeated, more stern this time.

"No, he cursed at me and then left."

Kaede studied her for a long minute.

Finally, she sighed. "We'll have to report this. . ."

She reached over her desk and picked up the receiver of her cream, corded phone. She dialed a number and listened for a few seconds before hitting a button and putting the receiver back down.

The button had been speaker phone.

There was a few rings before there was a click and a professional voice drilled off a long title before asking, "How can I help you?"

"This is Kaede," was the elderly woman's brisk reply. "I have a report."

"Of course, I'll connect you right away."

There was another click, a short pause, and then a few more rings.

Finally, there was another click and an uncertain voice asked, "Yes. . . Kaede?"

"There was a problem."

"With what?"

"Inuyasha."

The woman on the other line paused. "Nothing bad, right?"

"No, nothing bad."

The woman gave a sigh of relief. "Good."

"There was an. . . incident today at his session with Sango."

"What happened?" Her voice took up a worried edge. "He never was good with that session. . ."

"Everything will be taken care of. Sango will give you a full and detailed account of what happened."

Sango blinked at Kaede.

"Good; I'll need one."

Kaede nodded at Sango and with a little persistence from Kaede and the woman on the line, Sango told them what had taken place in her office just moments before.

00000000

There was a moment of silence as Sango finished.

The woman on the other line had given a few rants, but not much more than that. . .

"Just like that?" she asked.

Sango nodded, though there was no chance the woman could see it over the phone. "Yeah."

The woman sighed.

Kaede took advantage of the silence and asked, "What should we do? Punish him longer?"

". . . No, I have a better idea that might just change his attitude," she replied slowly.

Sango and Kaede exchanged looks of doubt.

Kaede decided to ask. "What?"

There was a light laugh. "I'm glad you asked. . . ."

00000000

There was a _long_ pause.

Sango broke it. "W- Wow, it just might work!" she sputtered.

Kaede said nothing for a long minute.

"What do you think?"

The elder looked thoughtful. "With some work, it might go well."

"I thought so, too!" the excited voice squealed over the phone.

Kaede nodded. "Yes, I do believe we'll have Inuyasha better by his birthday. . ."

Sango blinked in surprise. "So soon?"

The woman on the phone answered. "Yes, it shouldn't take that long, like you said, that n- - - What?" the woman's voice grew muffled as she apparently covered the mouth piece. "Oh, I see. Yes, thank you." She uncovered the phone and resumed talking. "I have an appointment, but we'll start the plan immediately. Good day, Kaede, Sango."

With that, the line went dead.

Kaede pressed the button to turn off the speaker. "Well, Sango, I expect you keep this under the table. I'll tell you how to guide this along the way as I receive more instructions."

Sango nodded, waved, and left in a way as though she had just been conversing on the weather over a cup of tea.

00000000

**So Kagome finally realized she was duped. :D Go 'gome! And now I have gone through and put in all of my cute little 00000000s that show time/PoV lapse. :) I rock.**

**Ja ne!**


	24. Very Addicting

Disclaimer: -Looks both ways before running up long staircase-

-Alarm goes off-

Curses!

-Turns and runs to woods across the street. Turns around-

So close. . . I was so close to stealing those ownership papers of Inuyasha. . . until then, I don't own him. . . .

-Plans another attack on papers-

A/N: Thank you _so_ much for reviewing, everybody!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
yKaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Four: Very Addicting

00000000

Sango nodded, waved, and left in a way as though she had just been conversing on the weather over a cup of tea.

00000000

"_No_!"

"C'mon! Please?"

"No."

"I want to!"

"Why?"

"It's fun!"

Inuyasha gave her a blank stare. "Fun?"

"Very!" Kagome agreed.

Inuyasha didn't respond.

"Please?"

Rolling his eyes, cursing mildly, and flattening the tone of his voice to show her he really wasn't into doing it, he muttered, "Keh, fine."

Kagome smiled at him, her eyes dancing happily. "I promise you it's addicting," she warned him.

He huffed. "Keh, I doubt that. Had it been _'addicting_' I would have bone it before this."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh."

Seeing the skeptical look she was giving him, he growled. "I would've."

Kagome didn't reply as she went and sat by him. "Ready?"

"I think so, it's not like it's gonna be hard."

"Well, it is harder your first time or so. You need to get the hang of it."

"Just get ready, wench. Take it out."

"Fine, fine," she replied as she opened the small cloth bag she'd brought. She pulled out her target and handed it to him.

He examined it. "You're sure it's actually addicting?"

"Very," Kagome assured.

". . . Okay, you'd better be right." He took a deep breath before opening the book of _Sudoku_ problems, flipped to a random page of easy ones, grabbed the pen Kagome handed him, and started to write down numbers.

00000000

Kagome peeked over Inuyasha's shoulder and smiled. "Not bad. . . for your first time."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Keh, it ain't so addicting."

"Oh, right, 'course not."

"It ain't! In fact, it's the most stupid game I've ever seen!" the hanyou huffed indignantly.

Kagome tried not to smile.

A sudden thought hit her and she hurriedly checked her watch. She relaxed, however, as she seemed to remember something.

"What's wrong?"

Kagome jumped at Inuyasha's voice as though she had forgotten he was there. "Oh. . . nothin', I was just looking to see what time it was."

Inuyasha furrowed his brow at her. "Why?"

Kagome shrugged. "I thought it was past time to pick up Ellen from her session."

"Oh," he muttered nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but it's not," Kagome sighed. "I've still got- - -"

She was cut off by a silent knock at the door.

Inuyasha and Kagome both looked at each other.

Kagome went over to the door, Inuyasha following, and unlocked it. Inuyasha opened the door before Kagome could even raise her hand.

They were both surprised by who was at the door. . .

Ellen.

Kagome was the first to speak. "What are you doing here?" she sputtered.

Ellen just stood there mutely, smiling like she had seen a mountain of chocolate.

"Ellen. . .?" Kagome gently asked.

"I said I- I had to go to- to the bathroom and th- they let m-me get up. I- I said that m-my nurse was th- there and they s- said I could go w- with her. But wh- when I got to the h- hall, I decided to v- visit Inuyasha, since I knew you'd be here, cause you're al- always here." Ellen gave a proud smile. "I really f- fooled them, too."

Kagome frowned at Inuyasha. "Are you happy?"

"What did I do?" Inuyasha demanded.

"You influenced her! You've probably blackened her soul by now. . . if she grows up to be a serial killer, it _so_ wasn't me."

"Aren't you optimistic?" he snapped in reply.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I was joking!" she defended.

Inuyasha huffed. "Just shut up, wench."

Inuyasha jumped at Ellen's laugh. "How long have you two been a c- couple?"

Her face was innocent. . . she wasn't joking, was she?

Inuyasha reddened as Kagome gave a short, forced laugh. "What makes you think that?"

she managed to ask.

Ellen looked confused. "Well, my mommy's friends used to act like you two. . . so, you're _not_ dating?"

"No, actually, no." The nurse's cheeks pinkened lightly as the little girl's brows furrowed.

"But you two are in l- love, right?"

Kagome squeaked as Inuyasha hastily said, "How bout we change the subject?"

"You didn't d- deny it. . ." Ellen persistently continued.

Kagome's eyes widened as the little girl looked from Inuyasha to Kagome, and back.

Inuyasha blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "Why is your name a States name?"

That stopped Ellen. She gazed up at Inuyasha for a long second before replying, slowly, carefully, "My daddy was American and my mommy was Japanese. Th- They got married young and had me. Daddy wan- wanted me to be named after his Aunt that d- died, so mommy agreed. Mommy said my name was som- something I should display proudly."

Inuyasha blinked twice, nonplussed. "Why?"

Ellen's facial expression became blank. ". . . Because wh- when I turned four, daddy died; m- mommy told me later that d- daddy had something called A- AIDS. He went to the Hospital and I could bar- barely ever see him. When I d- did, though, he looked really awful. When he died, m- mommy got tested for AIDS. Later, sh- she told me it came out positive.

"It didn't take long for her to get as gross looking as daddy. . . Only two years later, my auntie had to come and take care of me while mommy was in the Hospital. S- Six months later, mommy died."

There was a second pause as Inuyasha tried to figure out what to do. He could fell Kagome icy stare on his cheek, but ignored it. "Did you love your parents?"

The little girl nodded. "A lot. Th- They loved each other, too. But life doesn't like me, a- and I knew it was going to happen."

Inuyasha deadpanned. "What? You knew? What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed in warning.

Ellen continued. "When daddy died, I knew by the way m- mommy acted th- that she knew she was going to die, too. I didn't want to b- believe it, but wh- when mommy got sick, I- I knew sh- she had been right."

To Inuyasha's horror, the little girl's eyes glossed over with water, and he smelled salt.

Impulsively, Inuyasha grabbed the small book. "Wanna play _Sudoku_?"

Ellen blinked, her eyes clearing. "Wh. . . what?"

"_Sudoku_, the game that's positively addicting."

Kagome turned to give Inuyasha a stare. _Stupid game, huh?_'

"Yeah," Kagome added, "in_credibly_ addicting."

Ellen blinked. "It's fun?"

"Yep; so fun you'll be in tears," Inuyasha told her.

She reached out and took the pad and pen. ". . .Okay. How do you play?"

Inuyasha opened the book to a page of beginner puzzles and slowly taught her how to do it.

Ellen was smiling in no time.

00000000

"Are you done yet?" Inuyasha asked again.

Ellen shook her head as she wrote in another number.

Kagome sighed before leaning back against the wall, settling her legs on Inuyasha's bed.

"I should kill you," she muttered.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because she's not going to leave that alone now!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Hey, she's not crying anymore."

Kagome gritted her teeth. "She's been at that for two hours!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Is she crying?"

Kagome sighed. "That's not the point!"

"Mommy used to do things like this. . ."

Inuyasha and Kagome blinked before looking at Ellen.

"What?"

Ellen looked at Inuyasha. "W- When mommy went to visit daddy, she took b- books like these. . . she stayed for hours at the Hospital with h- him. She wouldn't normally g- get home until midnight or so. . ."

Inuyasha stared at the girl for a second. "How old _are_ you?"

"Nine," she answered simply.

"Who put you in here?"

"My auntie after my mommy died."

". . . What did they diagnose you as?"

"Seriously depressed."

Inuyasha's brow rose. "That's all?"

"No."

"Then what else?"

Kagome tensed beside Inuyasha.

"Suicidal."

Inuyasha blinked twice. "Are you?"

Ellen sat for a second, thinking. Finally, she murmured, "No."

"Did Sango diagnose you?"

"Yeah."

Inuyasha snorted. "I knew it! That quack needs to see a psychiatrist herself! She doesn't know what's up and what's down!"

Ellen gazed at Inuyasha. "Do you have a family?"

The triumphant smile on the hanyou's face disappeared. "Aren't you random. . .?" he grumbled.

"So you don't have one?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "And blunt, too. Yes, I have one."

Kagome peeked around Inuyasha to see Ellen. "Why don't we talk about something else now?" she suggested.

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, she told me about her family, it's only right that I tell her about mine."

Kagome was surprised to hear Inuyasha say that. So much that her mouth fell open.

"Don't gape!" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome promptly closed her mouth.

Inuyasha turned back to the little girl. "My mother's annoying, my father doesn't care anymore, my brother's a bastard, and Rin, his mate, must have a wheel not turning right for wanting to be with the idiot in the first place."

Kagome almost groaned. She should have known that was what he was going to say. . .

'_Wait._'

Kagome suddenly realized something. "Did you just swear in front of Ellen, again?"

Kagome demanded.

"You have ears. Did you hear me say anything?"

Kagome glared. "You really shouldn't be doing that!"

Inuyasha glared back. "I'll do it anytime I wan- - -"

"It's fine," Ellen said softly, causing Inuyasha to cut himself off. "Auntie did it all the time."

Inuyasha looked over. ". . . Why did your aunt send you here?"

Ellen shrugged, impassive. "She didn't want me anymore."

00000000

"I can't believe you asked her that!" Kagome snapped as she stormed Inuyasha's room.

Inuyasha merely glared.

Right after Ellen had answered his last question, Kagome had hurriedly blurted that it was getting late before taking Ellen to bed.

"She didn't have to answer," Inuyasha pointed out.

"Yes," Kagome agreed. "And you didn't have to ask her that."

Inuyasha grumbled to himself.

Kagome rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"And you shouldn't be nosing into what Sango thinks, either."

"You don't think she'd right, either, do you?"

Kagome stiffened. "What makes you think that?"

"I could tell, wench. You got all tense, like you are now."

"I'm not tense!" Kagome snapped.

". . . R_i-i-i-i-i_ght."

Kagome glared at the hanyou for a second before sighing. "Fine. I don't agree with her, alright?"

"No. Tell me why you don't believe her."

"What does it matter?"

"Just tell me!"

Knowing that he wasn't going to let the subject die until she had answered him, Kagome gave in. "Well, at first I thought maybe she was right, but then I got to know her, and I don't think she's depressed or suicidal."

Inuyasha gave Kagome a look. "Then what do you think it is?"

Kagome shrugged. "I just think she wants to belong to somebody - have someone to care about her. . . and I think you want that, too."

Kagome left with a hurried good-bye soon after she said that.

Inuyasha got ready for bed in silence.

As he lied in bed, he thought about Kagome's words.

'_Stupid wench, going and confusing me. . ._' With that, he fell asleep.

00000000

**I love Ellen. –grins- No, she isn't an original character. She's from the Inuyasha series.**

**You'll find out in chapter 37. (I've said too much. –slaps forehead-)**

**R&R**

**Ja ne!**


	25. Letting Go, Moving On

Disclaimer: -Stands on mountain, arms outstretched, looking up at sky triumphantly, paper in hand-

Finally! I've got the copyright of Inuyasha! I was up all night trying, but I got it!

-Sudden wind picks up . . . Paper slips out of grasp and flutters down into the river below. Few seconds pass as the tiny view of paper is ripped apart by current-

-Gasp—still in same position-

N—_No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o_! -Screams to the sky-

A/N: Sorry bout the disclaim—actually, I'm not going to apologize anymore, you all know I'm crazy . . . or, at least, you _should_ know that by now.

Thankx for reviewing (as always!)! :) You really make my day.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Five: Letting Go, Moving On

00000000

'_Stupid wench, going and confusing me. . ._' With that, he fell asleep.

00000000

"But. . . but. . . _why_?" Sango whined.

"It's best for now," came the reply.

"But. . . I - I mean. . . _why_? Mr. Dai, I'm doing great! Everyone says so!"

The man winced. _'Be nice and let her have her fantasy,_' he told himself.

From what he heard from a few patients and nurses, Sango wasn't doing. . . great,' as she said. . .

One patient had even tied a rope around his neck, stood on a chair and said he'd jump if Sango wasn't gone by the end of the day. . .

Luckily, that particular patient hadn't been the brains of the bunch, and when he saw the plate of cookies nearby, he jumped over the employees' heads, and practically tackled the table with the cookies. . .

At least no one was hurt. They just might need to replace the table.

An employee had even reported that a patient had grown an awful habit of taking knives and trying to pretend' to kill people. When questioned, the poor girl said that Sango told her she was growing up to be a serial killer. . . so the girl thought she should practice on people who scared or angered her. . . Needless to say, everyone was on her good side from then on, but that didn't change the fact that Sango had made a mistake.

The only hard thing in this whole situation was the fact that Sango was reluctant to give up her position.

"You have to," he informed her. "It's not my orders."

Sango looked at him curiously. "Or Kaede's," he told her, reading the question in her eyes.

Her jaw clenched and she tensed. "You mean. . .?"

Sensing how the rest of the sentence was going to go when she drifted off, he nodded. "Yep."

Sango swallowed. Hard decision; try and keep her job, most likely getting fired in the process, or back down, keep training, and wait to finish up her private psychological lessons with Mr. Dai - the best psychiatrist in the area. . .

"Fine," she mumbled.

Mr. Dai smiled fondly at her. She was like a little sister, a stubborn sister, but a sister none the less. "Thanks for making it easy," he told her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "One day you'll earn it back."

Sighing, Sango turned and went in a random direction.

00000000

Kagome was sitting in the employee room, filling out papers on Ellen and Inuyasha's health and stability over the past week.

_Has the patient given any signs of anger?_ _Has patient shown any signs of deep depression and/or suicide?_ Stupid questions like that took up a whole page before actual questions were written.

_Has patient been acting strangely? Has_ _(s)he been giving any problems with medication, if (s)he has any? If so, explain (If problem continues, please go to Mistress Kaede). Has patient been receiving any visitations?_

Kagome sighed before writing in more answers. These papers were nothing but a pain in the ass. Growling at the way the next page had the same question, merely worded differently, at least thirteen times, she wrote as fast as she could in her slanted, professional writing.

She barely noticed when someone joined her. Glancing up, Kagome's writing slowed, but didn't stop.

"Sango. . . hey, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, concerned when she noticed Sango's reddening eyes.

"Noth- - -" Sango stopped when her words came out all scratchy and cleared her throat. "Nothing," she tried again, her voice much leveler this time.

Kagome gave her a look, putting down her pen. "If it was nothing' I don't think you'd almost be crying."

Sango tried to rub away the tears that were fighting to free themselves in vain. A few slipped out, causing Sango to rub harder.

"Hey," Kagome murmured, standing and grabbing Sango's hands before pulling them away from her face. "Stop, there's no use getting so wound up over something so stupid- - - well, actually, I don't know of it's stupid because you haven't told me what it is, but nevertheless. . ."

Sango sniffled before looking down at the ground. "I was fired."

Kagome took a sharp intake of breath. _Oh. . ._'

'_You can't say she didn't have it coming_' a voice told her in a matter-of-fact tone.

'_Be nice_!'

'_I'm_ _telling the truth! You know that Ellen isn't suicidal! And Inuyasha isn't depressed. . . he may be sulking, but that's not depressed_.'

Kagome tried to give a smart reply, but at that moment, Sango's hold on her tears broke and they poured down, drenching her face. "You thought I should've been fired, too, didn't you?" she demanded in a voice that pleaded Kagome to say 'no.'

"No! Of course- - -"

'_I did._'

"Not! You were. . ." Kagome thought of something to fill in the sentence with. Her mind tried to get her to say some. . . pretty mean stuff.

'_You were awful! Kami-awful! Good thing they fired you!_'

'_Shut-up!_'

". . . _great_ at being a psychiatrist." Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat.

Sango sniffled again. "Well, they didn't exactly fire me," she muttered, rubbing at one of her eyes, wiping away the last remnants of her tears.

"They. . . didn't? Then what did they do?"

"Mr. Dai. . ." Sango paused and swallowed to keep from breaking down again. "Mr. Dai released me from that position. Now I'll go back to being his assistant and he'll continue to train me."

Kagome smiled reassuringly. "Then you'll get another chance," she assured the psychiatrist.

Sango's chin almost trembled. "But I wanna continue with these patients. . . and Inuyasha. I _know_ he's depressed, but Mr. Dai doesn't agree."

Kagome rolled her eyes. _'Aha, that's why. I should've known. . ._'

"I _swear_, Sango, you're not missing much by treating these patients. . . You'll probably move on to be one of the greatest psychiatrists of the generation."

Sango managed a small smile. "Thanks, Kagome, I feel much better."

Kagome sighed gently before smiling. A sudden thought struck her, and she frowned suddenly, kneading her lip. "Uh. . . Sango?"

"Yes?"

"Uh. . ." Kagome paused, thinking of how to word it. "Uh. . . Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Sango bobbed her head. "Yeah, in high school."

'_So_ _have I. . .'_

"So, um, have you loved any of them?"

Sango shook her head, making a face. "Nah. . . I've never loved anyone. . . Well, maybe one person, but I haven't dated him. . ."

Kagome shrugged. "Doesn't matter. How do you feel around him?"

Sango blinked twice. "Gosh, I don't know. All I can think of is. . . always happy. Eh, I'll get back to you on that one."

Kagome nodded. "Right, well, I better get going. The day is young and I've got to get Inuyasha and Ellen their breakfast." Gathering her papers, Kagome left with a wave over her shoulder. "See ya!"

00000000

_She was crying again. "You aren't happy?" _

"_Kikyou," Inuyasha growled. She always asked that, it was getting a bit annoying now. "You know the answer to that! And don't go and change the subject! Why did you do it?" _

"_B- Because he said it was the only way! It would make it easier on you and your job!" she wailed. _

"_Since when in hell have you cared so much about my job?" Inuyasha demanded. _

"_When?!" _

_Kikyou sniffled. "I- I promised I'd do anything I could to help make it easier on you with your job. I- I promised! Inu-kun, I- I love you." _

_Inuyasha sighed. "Too damn bad." _

_Kikyou looked taken aback. "Wh-What?" she stammered. _

"_Any slight chance of a slight possibility of us getting together is now thrown out the window because of your stupidity!" Inuyasha hissed. "I can't believe you'd even consider it!" _

"_But he said- - -" _

"_If he told you to jump off a bridge because it'd help me with my job, would you do it?" _

_A determined expression etched itself to Kikyou's face and Inuyasha held up a hand to stop her from answering. "No, wait. I don't wanna know the answer. But the fact remains that youkai mate for life! I've told you that? What made you think it'd change just for you?!" _

_His harsh voice struck harder than any physical blows could. "I- I thought. . ." _

_Inuyasha shook his head in disgust. "No, Kikyou, you didn't think, that's the problem." _

_With that, he stormed out of her house. _

00000000

He could feel the sun's warm rays before he opened his eyes to see them.

'_Early,_' his mind mumbled sleepily.

'_Yeah, it's morning,_' came a smart reply.

Inuyasha almost groaned. '_Oh, no. You're still here._'

'_What do you mean by that?_'

"Just shut-up and let me sleep," he grumbled.

'_Did you have a nice dream?_'

Inuyasha's sleep-bleared mind suddenly cleared. '_Shut the hell up._'

'_Was it. . . another memory?_' The voice seemed to taunt him.

'_I swear if you don't shut-up I'll- - -_'

'_Shut-up and open the door._'

Inuyasha blinked. In his thoughts, he hadn't heard the lock. Kagome was coming in. He smoothly jumped to his feet before trekking over and opening the door.

Kagome smiled up at him. "I was wondering if you'd ever come," she told him, coming in and putting his tray down on his nightstand.

Inuyasha blinked twice, surprised. "You were waiting?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, I knew if I hadn't, I would've never heard the end of it from you."

Inuyasha's cheeks pinkened. "Keh!" he huffed.

Kagome laughed at his expression. "Da poor hanyou needs to answer to answer a question for his breakfast!"

"Wha- - -? Keh! Hell no, wench. I ask mine first!"

Kagome opened her mouth to protest but Inuyasha held up a hand. "Or I won't answer any more questions," he threatened.

Kagome glared at him. "Fine."

Inuyasha grinned triumphantly. He thought of something to ask.

'_Ask her about her family,_' his youkai advised.

'_Oi! It's_ my _question, not yours, and I ain't wasting it!_'

'_Then ask her something reasonable._'

Inuyasha was about to retort to that remark when a thought struck him. "You said you had a boyfriend. . . right?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't. I've never talked to you about my love life."

Inuyasha almost stamped his foot. Plan A wasn't going to work. . . "Fine then, did you ever have a boyfriend?"

Kagome nodded. "Yep, in high school."

Inuyasha stifled a growl. "Name?"

Kagome grinned. "That wasn't part of your question."

Inuyasha blew his cheeks out, swearing profanities without opening his mouth. "It was implied!"

Kagome giggled. "Fine, fine; his name was Hojo."

Inuyasha nodded, satisfied. _'Now I know who to kill when I get out of here: Hobo._'

'_Why do you care?_'

Inuyasha sputtered. _'I- I don't! I just. . . I think I know him._'

'_Uh-huh, right. We'll go with that. . . Jealous, aren't you?_'

'_There ain't nothin' to_ be _jealous over!_'

'_. . . How's the weather in denial?_'

"Um, Inuyasha?"

'_Shut-up!_'

"Why are you growling like you're going to kill someone?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

Kagome gave him a look. "You were growling. . ."

Inuyasha nodded sarcastically. "_Yeah_, youkai do that."

"But you sounded like you were ready to kill."

'_Oh. . .?_'

An amused chuckle rang through his head.

'_Not a word,_' he growled to his youkai.

Inuyasha shrugged in - what he hoped was a - nonchalant way. "Just thinking."

"Well. . . do I get my question now?"

The hanyou nodded. "Yep."

"Okay. . . um. . . so, any secrets I don't know about?"

Inuyasha merely gave her a blank stare. "And I'm just going to come out and tell you this because. . .?"

"Because I asked you!" Kagome answered as if the answer was as obvious as two plus two.

Inuyasha snorted. "Uh-huh, that's going to convince me to tell you."

Kagome's face brightened. "So you _do_ have one!"

Inuyasha almost choked on air. "What the hell? You tricked me!"

Kagome looked away innocently. "Well, I knew you wouldn't just. . . tell me. I had to!"

Inuyasha snorted again. "Last time I ever trust you. . ." he grumbled.

Kagome gasped. "Oh, before I forget! You have an appointment at the councilor's."

Inuyasha gave Kagome a look. "What makes you think I'm going back to see Sango?"

Kagome almost fell over forward. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you! Mr. Dai took his place back."

Inuyasha made a hand movement that gestured for her to continue. "Meaning. . .?"

Kagome tried not to smile at his curious expression. "Sango was let go."

00000000

**(E/N: Hi!! I'm the new editor!! Since our favorite author has issues, I am editing for her. -looks all proud- Also when she asked me to edit for her she asked for a drum roll. Well let's just say the drummer is now a zombie. -waves at zombie- Yeah, I kinda killed him. Soooo he is our mascot!! Yep we've got a mascot!! All we have to do is give him a name. Alright I guess I'm babbling again. Soooo I'd better let you go. Ohh and if you don't review I'll have the zombie attack you!! REVIEW NOW!!)**

**Yes, erm, that was my editor. We're both permanently** **hyper. U-U;; And, yes, I'm trying to update every chapter asap, but my computer is mental… my Internet somehow went on vacation and left my computer… then, a few days later, it came back… Poof, it was there… -scratches head- I've learned not to ask questions…**

**Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	26. Phone Calls

Disclaimer: Do I really have to write it? You know what? I won't. Go back and read the one from the last chapter if you want to so bad. . . .

A/N: Thankx to everyone who reviewed!

AGE:

Inuyasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Six: Phone Calls

00000000

Kagome tried not to smile at his curious expression. "Sango was let go."

00000000

Inuyasha almost jumped up with excitement. "Finally!" he breathed happily, looking totally relieved. "Someone listened to me!" He looked up and seemed to mutter all the good things he was going to do for having his 'prayer' answered.

Kagome thought he looked like a little boy that had finally been given the toy he had been wishing to get for a long while. "You're being mean," she reminded him.

Inuyasha snorted, looking down at her. "You actually think I care? I've been waiting since she had started that position for the day she'd be fired."

Kagome frowned. "She wasn't fired."

Inuyasha waved her comment away. "Close enough. The point of the matter is I won't see her anymore."

She gave him a pointed look. "How mean can you get?"

The hanyou rolled his eyes. "You need to shut-up now."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but Inuyasha interrupted her before she said even a word. "No, I'm serious. You _really_ need to shut-up."

Her jaw tensed as she glared. "Why don't _you_ shut-up when _I_ tell you to?"

Inuyasha huffed. "Keh! Ain't it obvious? I'm dominant."

Kagome merely stared. ". . . Dominant?" she echoed.

"Yeah, you know, as in- - -" he cut himself off as he blinked twice.

" 'As in' what?" Kagome prompted.

The hanyou's golden eyes narrowed in a glare. "Shouldn't you be somewhere else?"

Kagome froze as she thought. After a moment, her eyes widened. "Shoot! I've got to get Ellen to her session!"

With that, she whirled and unlocked the door, Inuyasha hastily opening it, and she hustled down the hall. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take you to Mr. Dai!" she called as she

turned the corner.

Inuyasha made a face as he turned, closed the door, and sat in his bed.

The moment his flesh touched the bed, his youkai chuckled. 'Dominant, _now, are we?_'

Inuyasha growled. '_Let it go._'

'_You're embarrassed, aren't you?_'

Inuyasha flustered at that. '_W-_ _What gives you that idea?_'

His youkai laughed at him. '_You're embarrassed you told her you were the dominant- - -_'

'_Don't finish that!_' Inuyasha warned.

'_- - -Mate; well, you didn't say 'mate,' but it was implied,_' his youkai finished, totally ignoring Inuyasha's comment.

Inuyasha groaned, face reddening even more. '_Why can't you ever shut-up? You can't stop blabbering when I want quiet and you're quiet as a doornail when I_ want _your help. You're messed up!_' Inuyasha whined.

There was a sigh, but no answer to that.

The hanyou growled. '_You're so fucking annoying._'

'_It's in the job description._'

'_Whatever._'

'_Oi, by the way, are you ever going to tell her about tonight?_'

Inuyasha sighed. '_I can't. . . at least. . . not yet._'

His youkai snorted. '_You really are stupid, aren't you?_'

'_What the hell do you mean by that?_'

There was no answer

00000000

"Can we go and v- visit Inuyasha?"

Kagome looked down at Ellen as they walked down the hall that led to the art room.

"Maybe. I'll ask him if he minds you visiting later, okay?"

Ellen beamed. "Really?"

Kagome nodded. "Yep, really." When Ellen giggled, Kagome frowned. "But no more sneaking away, okay?"

Ellen nodded in reply before trotting through the door where they had stopped. "See you l- later, Nurse Kagome."

Kagome nodded before turning, sighing and making her way back through the halls. She had barely taken a step before her cell phone's ring tone flooded her hearing. Kagome pulled it out, continuing down the hall, and checked the caller ID. When it read anonymous, she froze, giving it a curious look.

'_Who- - -?_'

Flipping it open, she answered, "Hello, this is Kagome Higurashi speaking."

"Kagome?"

She rolled her eyes. "Isn't that what I said?"

The voice chuckled. "Yes, well, just checking."

'_Wait a second. . ._' The voice sounded familiar. . .

Kagome gasped. "_Miroku_? Is this you?"

Miroku laughed. "Just now figured that out, Kaggy?"

"Don't call me that," she reprimanded. "And where in the seven hells have you been?"

"I told you, I was visiting my mother."

Kagome snorted. "Last time I checked, the dead couldn't rise."

_That_ shut Miroku up.

"I can't believe you lied to me! On top of that, you dare take so long off? Where've you been?"

Miroku didn't answer.

"You could at least grant me the courtesy of an answer, don't you think?!"

Miroku sighed from the other end of the line. "I can't tell you where I've been," he muttered.

"Why not?" Kagome demanded.

". . . Because. . ." He sighed. "**B**ecause I left on orders."

Kagome snorted. "On whose? Your own?"

"No! On. . . on. . ." He drifted off.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I knew it."

"No! No! Seriously," Miroku defended. "I was ordered to- - -" He cut himself off, probably remembering he was about to tell her where he went.

Kagome sighed. "Alright; 'fess up. You're not going to tell me why you left, are you?"

Miroku seemed to think that question was safe, for after a pause he replied, ". . . No. . ."

Kagome frowned. "I should've known. Now I'm going to have to play in the dark to figure things out," she grumbled darkly. "Okay, let's see how to begin this. . . can you tell me if you were really called away?"

Miroku hesitated. ". . .Yes, I was really called away."

Kagome glared at the wall. "Truthfully?"

"Yeah, truthfully. And before you ask, yes, I would bet my life on that answer."

Kagome nodded, satisfied. "Okay, good. Now, can you tell me why you were called away?"

"No," he answered automatically.

Kagome almost stuck out her tongue, but then remembered that he wouldn't be able to see her even if she did. Instead, she gritted her teeth and asked, "Who called you away?"

". . . Someone important."

Kagome slowly breathed in before counting to three and letting it out. "Okay, can you tell me anything else about them?"

". . . No."

"Do they have anything to do with this center?"

"Yes. . ." Miroku hesitated.

"Okay, um. . . do they work here?"

"Not exactly."

Confusion replaced Kagome earlier anger. "Uh. . . okay." Kagome thought about that for several long seconds before growling and blurting. "Then what do they do?!"

Miroku gave a long pause before answering. "They own the center."

"Own the- - -? What does that mean? Miroku? Answer me! What does that mean?"

She was talking to a dead line.

Miroku hung up.

00000000

Kaede rubbed her temple as she skimmed over one of the weekly-updated files on one of her more critical patients.

'_Doesn't seem to respond to orders. . . Doesn't want to talk. . . Doesn't- - -_'

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as she answered the phone with a long introduction, a short speech, and a warm greeting.

The person on the line sighed in a sad manner. "Kaede, Miroku just told me something. . ." she murmured softly.

Kaede snapped to as she heard her boss's voice. "Yes?"

"He told one of your nurses a few things that should've been kept. . . under the table."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, so now we're going to have to speed things up or she'll figure it out and tell Inuyasha, then he'll _never_ get out!"

"Who, exactly, did he tell?"

"Inuyasha's nurse."

Kaede sharply breathed in. "Kagome."

"Yeah, I think that's what Miroku said her name was."

"Will there be any punishment?"

"No, I don't think it's necessary. I've dealt with the problem already."

"Okay, but I do have a problem here, myself."

The woman on the line's voice became crisp. "Yes?"

"There's an indifferent patient here."

"New?"

"Yes."

"Then up their session with Mr. Dai to two hours twice a day, double on weekends and have Gin as her nurse. That woman's skills with mentally retarded children are amazing. . ." she added as an afterthought.

"Yes, of course."

"Now, I need to talk to you about Inuyasha. . ."

"You do recall his punishment is up in only a couple days?"

"Yes, I remember," the woman on the phone replied tartly.

"So, in two days- - -"

"Begins the real treatment, yes. And I want to improvise on my earlier plan."

"Yes?" Kaede asked.

The woman on the line sighed before beginning.

00000000

"Hmm. . ." Kaede mused. "It might need some tweaking on my part, but. . . that'll most likely work. . ."

"I know!" the voice on the phone happily proclaimed. "I'll have to get everything prepared, though, over here. . ."

"Understandable," Kaede assured her.

"Yes, in only a few days. . ." the voice drifted off as she most likely started thinking about something.

"But. . . what to do with Kagome?"

"Leave her be. She'll most likely succeed better if left to herself."

"Understood."

"And Kaede?"

"Yes?"

"This conversation. . . never happened."

"Yes, of course. Good day."

"Good day to you, too!" the woman chimed brightly before hanging up.

Kaede put the phone back on the cradle and returned to viewing the paperwork.

00000000

Kagome was brooding as she slowly returned to Inuyasha's cell.

'_Why did Miroku just hang up like that?_' she wondered as she turned a corner.

She didn't have much more time to herself, since her cell phone's ring tone went off in her pocket.

Kagome sighed before checking the ID - it came up anonymous again - and flipped it open with a bright, "Hello, this is Kagome speaking."

"Oh, Kaggy, um. . ."

"Wait, Miroku? And don't call me that! What's up now?"

"Well, a slight problem. . ."

"Yeah?" Kagome's stomach was getting hard - she didn't have a good feeling about what he was going to say.

"I. . . uh, won't be making it back for another few more days."

"Wait, _what_?!"

There was a wince in Miroku's voice. "Yeah, uh, I was ordered to stay away longer for. . . important stuff."

"What type of stuff'?"

"Just. . . you know. . . _stuff_."

"Miroku, I swear if you don't give me a proper answer- - -He hung up on me!" she cried as she tore the phone away from her ear to glare at the screen, as though that would bring him back on to talk.

"If only I had your number. . ." she grumbled as she stormed the rest of the way to Inuyasha's cell.

00000000

**(E/N: -laughs hysterically- That is soooo funny. I mean Kagome keeps having Miroku hang up on her. I know that you're all thinking she is insane. Well Sayo and I are both crazy!! Ok well review or you will have to listen to us have a boring conversation!! Byez!!)**

**I'm ending it there, or I'd** _**never**_ **end it.**

**-Sigh-** **Btw, anyone else notice how the days in the story are taking up more chapters? It's only been a total of five days into Inuyasha's punishment! (Two more to go, Inuyasha!)**

**Ja ne!**


	27. New Knowledge and Surprises

Disclaimer: If pigs can fly, than I own Inuyasha.

:Random Farmer cries: Catch that pig! -pig flies by-

Do I own—?

:Farmer: No.

But—

:Farmer, a bit annoyed: _No_.

I just saw—

:Farmer: We're screening a movie, the pig's in a harness.

Dang it.

A/N: Another chappie . . . a little late, but it's arrived. And soon, the REAL angst, suspense, and plot will thicken . . . But for now, a little light-hearted "down" chappie! ;)

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Seven: New Knowledge and Surprises

00000000

"If only I had your number. . ." she grumbled as she stormed the rest of the way to Inuyasha's cell.

00000000

Inuyasha's ears twitched before he stood and went over to the door to open it. She stormed in and plopped down on his bed.

Two things registered before Kagome even opened her mouth.

One: She looked a bit miffed.

Two: She was squeezing her cell phone in her fist as if it was the last and only thing giving her comfort on an alien planet.

"Uh. . . can I help you?"

Kagome gave the hanyou a glare before grumbling. "Any way you could kill Miroku?"

Inuyasha blinked twice before staring at the nurse for several seconds. Finally, he grinned. "Now you're speaking my language."

Kagome merely muttered darkly about some things which included, 'cutting 'it' off.'

Inuyasha stared down at her. "Holy hell, wench. What did he do?"

Kagome growled before giving him a rabid glare. "He hung up on me."

Inuyasha's face blanched. "Huh?"

Kagome repeated - with patience she was pulling out of her pocket, "While I was talking to him on the phone, he hung up on me."

It took awhile for that to sink in, but when it did, Inuyasha burst out laughing.

Kagome - if possible - got even angrier. "What's your problem?!"

Inuyasha took several more seconds to chuckle like an idiot before he managed to rely, "You're getting angry over Miroku hanging up on you?"

Kagome gave the hanyou an icy glare. "Yes."

"Why?"

Kagome turned to eye the nightstand for several seconds. _'It won't hurt that much if I throw it at him. . ._'

'_Whoa, girl. Back up and take a few deep breaths._'

Kagome ignored the voice and continued to eye the piece of furniture.

Inuyasha, confused, examined her face before turning to see what she was looking at. After a moment, he returned his gaze to the nurse, then to the nightstand, back to Kagome, back to the nightstand- - -

It finally sank in as to what she was probably thinking and Inuyasha pouted. "Keh! Wench, I didn't even _do_ anything!"

Kagome whipped her head around to stare at him. "Uh-huh. . . right."

"I didn't!"

Kagome breathed in slowly, seemed to count to ten, and let it out. Finally, after a pause, she seemed to clam down. . .

And decided to cry about it.

"Oi, wench!" Inuyasha sputtered. "What's up with you?" '_Is she PMS-ing?_'

Kagome sniffled as a single salty droplet of water slid slowly down her cheek. "I'm sorry I'm being difficult, Inuyasha," Kagome sullenly muttered. "I just hate being hung up on when I'm talking on the phone."

"I can see," Inuyasha answered airily.

Kagome sniffed as she rubbed her eye. " 'M sorry," she mumbled. "Stupid."

Inuyasha's brow rose in question. "St- Stupid?" Inuyasha sputtered. _'Wench is gone and insulted herself!_' "The only 'stupid' thing I see here is. . . well, nothing, but. . ." Inuyasha drifted off and shook his head. "Never mind. Will you just tell me why you were suddenly crying?"

Kagome sighed. "I guess," she mumbled. "Ever since I was little, I've always hated it when someone would hang up on me when I was talking to them on the phone."

Inuyasha thought about that. "Oh. . . okay. . . why?"

Kagome shrugged. "My father. . ." Kagome let the sentence drift off as she sighed and looked away.

"Your father what?"

The nurse blinked as her voice flattened slightly. "My father left my mother and me right after Souta was born. He left with 'his sister.' " Kagome paused to give an angry, sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, since when did he kiss his sister like a lover. . .? When did he _get_ a sister?" Kagome shook her head disapprovingly. "Well, anyway, he left and maxed my mom's cards out, since he was in charge of most of our money and budgets. When he was broke, his 'sister' left him. . . and he died. His health wasn't always the best, and the depression he was under got him sick, and that sickness killed him. . . I was little and didn't understand the. . . _whole_ situation. My mother told me he was away on business. But. . . ignorance is bliss, I suppose. I would call him almost every day and ask him when he'd be coming home. . . when he'd come see me. I always said the same thing over again. I can remember I basically had the exact same conversation with him every time I called . . ."

00000000

"_Are you coming home soon, daddy?" Kagome Higurashi asked her father excitedly._

00000000

"His life and happiness seemed to slowly drain away. . ."

00000000

"_Daddy will be home when he feels like going home."_

00000000

Kagome stopped to take a deep breath. "I, a naïve child, continued to question him."

00000000

"_How come I never met your sister before? Do I have an auntie?"_ _Kagome thought of all her friends that had aunts. . . they always came to school showing off a present they_ _had received as a gift._ _. . Maybe her auntie would give her gifts, too._

"_Honey- - -"_

00000000

"My father would _always_ reply with the same, monotonous answers. . ."

00000000

"_- - -don't you_ _know when to mind your own business?"_

"_Do I?" the hopeful girl persisted._

"_. . . If you have nothing important to tell me, then I'm hanging up- - -"_

"_No, daddy!" Kagome cried, horrified. "I have lots of_ _important stuff to tell you."_

_Her father sighed. "Then make it quick."_

"_I got straight As! And I'm going to skip over second grade and go into third!"_

00000000

"I always told him something about my family and I, hoping he'd be so proud, he'd come home to see my little brother, who he hadn't seen in about a year, and the rest of us. . . I thought that maybe if he saw Souta and how happy we were as a family, he'd forget about his 'business.' "

00000000

"_. . . That's great. Congratulations."_

"_. . . You're proud?"_

"_Of course."_

"_Then. . . guess what else?"_

_Her father sighed. "What?"_

"_Souta's_ _started to walk. He's saying a few words, now."_

"_Great. Tell Saby congratulations, too."_

_Kagome giggled. "Daddy, his name is Souta!"_

"_Mm, right. Look, are you done wasting my time, I have other things to do."_

"_Wait, I want to tell you one other thing. Mama said- - -"_

_She heard the dial tone, and wondered what it was. "Daddy? Are you still there?"_

_There was no answer._

_Kagome giggled again. "Daddy, stop joking."_

_There was still no answer._

_When Kagome told her mother, her mother smiled and told Kagome it was time for ice cream shopping and that she could call her father again tomorrow._

00000000

"Every conversation I had with him was like that. He would always hang up on me when he found me 'boring.' He died when I was around nine. When I grew up, I put two and two together and figured everything out."

Inuyasha sighed. _'Now what do I do?_'

'_Comfort her.'_

'_I knew_ that!'

'_Then why aren't you doing it?_'

'_. . . Shut-up._'

Deciding to completely change the subject, Inuyasha asked, "Am I still going to Mr. Dai's?"

Kagome's head snapped in his direction. "Oh, shoot! Come on, Inuyasha. I think we're late!"

Inuyasha followed rushing nurse as slowly as he could.

"Will you hurry up?"

"Nope," he replied, and he slowed his pace even more.

00000000

"That's all we're doing?"

"Yep."

Inuyasha's brow creased in a frown. ". . . What's the catch?"

Mr. Dai's brow rose. "Now there's a catch?" He sounded highly amused.

The hanyou gave him a warning glare. "There _has_ to be. . ."

He shook his head. "There's not."

". . . So, you're telling me that you're going to. . . _examine_ me and if I pass as 'sane' then I'm free to go?" Inuyasha sounded like someone just told him he was actually seeing in black-and-white.

Mr. Dai considered that for a second before answering. "Not exactly _examine_, so much as. . . inspect you. Like I'll check out your behavior and such, and after awhile if I gather that you, indeed, pass as 'sane,' we'll see what we can do to get you out of here."

Inuyasha gave him a skeptical look. "So there's really no catch?"

The psychiatrist nodded. "No catch, all you have to do is prove yourself."

Inuyasha eyed him over before giving a single nod in reply. "If you say so," he grumbled.

Mr. Dai leaned back in his chair and pulled out a small tablet. "Well, we'll begin our first session. All I want to do right now is get to know you since. . . well, since I don't really know you."

The hanyou rolled his eyes. "Right." _'He's starting to sound like a male version of Sango._'

"Okay, Inuyasha. All I want you to do is tell me what you want me to know about you."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Inuyasha gave him a look before shrugging. "If you say so."

"Okay then, you can tell me whatever you want until the end of this session starting. . . now."

The hanyou stared at the psychiatrist for a long pause before saying, "I hate this."

Mr. Dai said nothing.

"Well. . . my brother's a bastard."

Mr. Dai didn't answer.

"My father's a bit of an idiot."

Still no answer.

"My mother must have been high to have married my father."

The psychiatrist didn't even flicker an eye.

"My brother's a bastard. And my almost-sister-in-law must be crazy to find him appealing. Oh, and my brother's a bastard."

Mr. Dai, sensing Inuyasha was done, nodded. "Anything else?"

Inuyasha thought about that for a second before saying, "Oh yeah, Miroku's a pain in the ass."

Mr. Dai remained quiet for a long second as Inuyasha stared back at him. "Are you done?"

"Yep."

"Positive?"

"Couldn't be more."

". . . So. . . is that all you're going to say?"

"Yep."

Mr. Dai didn't seem to believe that, so he waited several moments. Inuyasha seemed to be in pure torture from boredom, though he didn't let on so Mr. Dai would figure it out.

Finally, the psychiatrist blurted, "There's got to be something else you can talk about."

Inuyasha shrugged. "There's not."

"There's always something." Mr. Dai then suggested, "How about some of your past?"

The hanyou sent him a look. He rolled his eyes. "I don't mean anything like _that_; I mean you could tell me something about your childhood or something."

". . . Really now?"

"Yeah."

". . . Okay," Inuyasha grinned. "When I was going into third grade. . ."

00000000

"I told her no, and of course she got hysterical. She claimed she owned everything of mine and said she'd sue. I told her I wanted her to leave me alone and that I'd put her in a funky farm if she didn't leave me be, that it was just a prank."

Mr. Dai nodded before patting Inuyasha's arm and sighing. "Women are a bit. . . crazy, I'll agree."

Inuyasha shrugged. Truth be told, he pulled that story out of his ass to shut the guy up - it never even happened. As well as to shut up Mr. Dai, Inuyasha had spun that tale to waste time. Mr. Dai checked his watch before nodding. "Time for you to go to your room and have some lunch."

Inuyasha stood, stretching his arms. " 'K, so am I done for the day. . .?"

The psychiatrist shook his head. "You'll be back after dinner and then you'll head to your room for the night."

Inuyasha gave a long-suffering sigh. "Of course."

Mr. Dai went over to the door and opened it, inspecting the hallway. "Ah, Nurse Kagome, you weren't waiting long, I hope. . .?"

Inuyasha made his way to and stood beside the older man, peering into the hall. There stood Kagome, looking as happy as ever. "Ready to go?"

The hanyou shrugged. "I guess."

Kagome gave a hearty good-by to Mr. Dai before walking with Inuyasha back to his room. "Did ya have a good time?' Kagome asked, sounding like a mother picking her child up from a birthday party.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "A blast," he remarked sarcastically.

Kagome shot him a look before continuing on in silence.

00000000

"No!"

"Why?"

"No way in hell!"

". . . Please?"

"_No_!"

"Aw, c'mon!" Kagome persuaded, "it'll be fun!"

"Fun?" Inuyasha echoed.

"Tons!"

Inuyasha gave her an once-over before giving a sigh. "Sure," he grumbled.

Kagome beamed. "You won't regret it!" she assured as she left.

Inuyasha merely gave another sigh.

'_The things I do for- - -_' he cut his thought off abruptly.

His youkai chuckled, quite amused. '_Let me finish that thought for you: The things you do for. . . Love._'

'_Nuh-uh! That so wasn't what I was going to say!_' Inuyasha growled.

But even as he said that, he knew - just _knew_ - he was too close to Kagome for anyone's safety.

00000000

**(E/N: Awe that was a WONDERFUL chapter, wasn't it?? -watches reader yell heck yes- That's what I thought. So since it was awesome go REVIEW!! I'll be happy and the zombie will be happy.)**

**I. Am. So. Sorry. I have tried to update all my fics, but, alas, I changed my e-mail on this account, but I made a typo and couldn't figure out what I put in and it took me forever to fix it--but now I'm back (for the what, the umpteenth time?) and rearing to go!**

**Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	28. New Girlfriend

Disclaimer: I've joined a secret club that plans on taking Rumiko Takahashi out. And when she's gone, we'll fight over the copyright to Inuyasha. So, it's all a matter of time now . . .

A/N: Right now the only thing keeping me awake is a very large pot of flavored, caffeinated coffee . . . enjoy ze chapzerz ne ma . . . -head collapses against keyboard- -snore-

E/N: She's lying to you. She is really still up. Shhh don't tell her I told!! -hides behind tree-

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Eight: New Girlfriend

00000000

But even as he said that, he knew - just _knew_ - he was too close to Kagome for anyone's safety.

00000000

Inuyasha was in pure agony.

However, seeing Kagome's happy mood was enough to force himself through it.

"How about this one?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Whatever the hell makes you happy."

Kagome bit her lip. "Or maybe this one. . ." she said, changing her mind just as she had been doing for the past hour.

"Sure."

"Then again, I do like that."

"Fine."

"Oh! That one's so cute!"

"Then get it!"

Kagome darted from shelf to shelf looking for the perfect one. "It needs to look cute, be comfortable, and catch my eye," she told Inuyasha.

"Then we'll get a potato sack."

Kagome snorted. "Be serious." She put the pink baby dress back on the rack.

"Tell me why we're here again?"

"To have fun."

Inuyasha snorted. "Oh, yeah, I'm going to have fun in a baby store!"

Kagome gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. "It _is_ fun!"

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he saw her browse through a few frilly dresses. "Sorry, I'm not gay."

Kagome made a face but decided against saying anything more about the subject. Instead, she continued to search through the outfits.

Inuyasha merely groaned. "C'mon, wench. Can we leave now?"

"No."

". . . Please?"

"No."

"Geez, I said _please_!" Inuyasha huffed.

"That's nice, but my answer is still no."

The hanyou gave a frustrated growl. "When someone says please you have to do it!"

Kagome gave him a look over her shoulder. "Oh, really?"

"Yes!"

"Right." Kagome rolled her eyes. "We'll go with that."

"Good, then we're leaving."

"Sarcasm!" Kagome called to him.

Inuyasha whirled before giving a stony glare to Kagome. "We're leaving."

Kagome quirked an eyebrow. "No." She turned and resumed her search.

The hanyou's ears flattened. '_Dammit, it didn't work!_'

'_Did you expect it to? 'If you say please, you have to do it'!'_ his youkai mocked in a high voice.

'_I do_ not _sound like that!_'

'_Says you._'

Inuyasha growled. "Fine then, I'll deal with it! I'm a man," he grumbled.

'_Let's see how long you last._'

He stuck his hands in his pockets as he tried to patiently wait for Kagome.

A few seconds passed, and all he heard was the occasional screech of small coat hangers being pushed aside on metal stands.

He stifled a groan at the high-pitched sound.

'_It's not that bad. . .'_

There was another screech. And then a baby started wailing. And then someone bumped their cart into a small, metal stand, which fell over backward and created a domino effect with several others.

"_Clean-up near the carriages; clean-up near the carriages,"_ a female voice announced several seconds later.

His ears flattened at the crackling in the speakers when the announcement was over.

He peeked at Kagome to see her comparing a light pink dress to the same dress only a darker pink.

"Which one. . .?" he heard her murmur.

"Why are we even here, wench?" Inuyasha called over to her.

The nurse glanced over her shoulder. "I told you already, for fun."

Inuyasha huffed. "Keh! This ain't fun!"

"Of course it is!"

Inuyasha's shoulders sagged as his hope deflated slightly. He leaned against the shelves he was in front of, his head resting against the hard wood. He looked up towards the ceiling, only to see more wood. '_Holy hell, how tall is this thing?_'

He was pushing his head further back to see if he could tell when suddenly he wasn't leaning on anything anymore. He heard the loudest sound he probably ever heard and whirled around. No longer was there a set of shelves there, instead, they had fallen and squashed several other smaller clothes shelves. Though at this point, no one could tell what it originally was. All that remained was shredded baby clothes and splinters.

"Damn. . ." he muttered.

He heard a pair of feet shuffling towards him and turned in time to see Kagome grab his sleeve and - quite hastily - lead him out of the store and into her car.

"Thought you didn't want to go," Inuyasha old her, a little smug.

She shot him a look as they continued. "Not funny."

He shrugged. "I didn't say it was. All I'm saying is we're leaving that hell hole."

Kagome ignored his comment as she pulled out of the parking lot, grumbling darkly to herself.

"I can hear you, ya know."

Kagome wrinkled her nose. "Great, now you're an eavesdropper."

Inuyasha sent her a look. "No, I don't eavesdrop,' I have very good hearing."

The nurse wrinkled her nose again. "Right, the dog ears. . ." she drifted off as though she thought of something and turned to stare at Inuyasha.

"Wench?" he growled, his grip tightening on the door frame.

She continued to stare. "Wench?" he asked a little louder, trying to attract his attention, his eyes straight forward.

Kagome seemed to almost be in a daze.

"_Wench_!"

Kagome snapped back to reality. "What?"

"_Look at the road_!"

Kagome looked up and saw she was in wrong lane with a huge tractor trailer coming at her. Quickly, she swerved back into her lane, getting a few annoyed honks.

"Smart," Inuyasha told her, trying to calm his rapid pulse.

"Hey, I didn't get us killed, did I?"

"You almost did!"

"And you destroyed a lot of expensive clothing. We'll call it a day."

Inuyasha sighed. "Whatever. . . wait a second. Wench?"

"What?"

"Where are we going?"

"Well the afternoon's still young, so- - -"

"Where are we going?" he cut her off to demand.

A small pause. "Oh, nowhere. . . _special_," she replied with a grin.

00000000

Inuyasha was in serious torture now. "How dare you," he grumbled.

Kagome shrugged. "Hey, on Thursdays, they have their mascot in here on stage pulling

adults up to dance; you should feel grateful I brought you here _today_." She grabbed another slice of pizza and started to eat it.

Inuyasha, arms crossed, sat on the chair next to her. "I don't really want to hear it."

A pack of kids herded by him. He turned to grab some pizza, only to find it was all gone.

"Wh- - - I wanted to eat some of that!" he bellowed after the rugrats that were now playing on the indoor jungle gym. Sitting back against his chair in a sulk-y fashion, Inuyasha grumbled, "Why the hell did you even come _here_ of all places?"

Kagome took a long slurp of her soda before answering. "There's a reason, you'll just have to wait to find out what it is."

Inuyasha sighed in frustration. "Everything is a secret with you! Just tell me!"

Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but someone else's voice filled his ears.

"Kagome!"

A second later, a boy around eleven or twelve practically jumped on Kagome.

"Kagome! I was looking for you for a while now!"

She feigned a look of shock. "Oh, no! Whatever shall we do?"

The boy let go of her and crossed his arms in a pout. "Hey. . ." he whined.

Kagome giggled before turning to face Inuyasha. "See, I told you we were waiting for somebody. Now, don't you think you were a little impatient?"

"No."

Kagome glared at him. "This is my little brother, Souta. Remember I told you about him?"

". . . No."

Kagome gave an exaggerated roll of her bright eyes. "Well I did. I remember it."

"I don't."

She decided to ignore that particular comment.

Souta looked from the hanyou to his sister and back. ". . . Sis?"

"What?"

"That's your. . . boyfriend, right?"

Both Inuyasha and Kagome choked on air.

'_What the hell?'_ Inuyasha mentally sputtered.

Kagome's face darkened to a pretty pink. "Souta," she squeaked. "You don't go around asking people that."

Her brother gave another look from Inuyasha to Kagome - who both had a dark flush. A grin broke out on his face. "Awww, sis, I didn't know you had a _crush_ on- - -" he stopped for a second before looking over at the hanyou. "What's your name?"

"Keh! Like bloody hell a little twerp like you is- - -"

"Inu_yasha_, don't talk to my brother that way!" Kagome chided.

Souta got what he wanted, though. "Awww, sis," he said again, "You have a _cru-u-u-u-ush_ on Inuyasha!" He made it even more annoying by telling her that in a sing-song voice.

Kagome blinked several times before turning to face her brother, the blush coming back in full-force. "Souta! I'm never bringing you and your new girlfriend here again!" she squealed.

Souta's face turned from smug to horrified in half a second. He quickly scampered over to the huge indoor jungle gym without a second thought.

"Wow," Inuyasha remarked, "cute kid."

Kagome smiled. "Yeah, I kn- - -" she abruptly cut off, blinked, and gave the hanyou a sharp look. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"No," he drawled.

"Shut-up!" Kagome whined. "He's my brother, and no matter how much I may want to plan his early demise, I still love him!"

"Okay."

Kagome gave him a stony glare. "You're digging yourself in deeper!"

"Keh!" he huffed. "I'm not digging myself anywhere! I didn't do anything!"

"Then who did?"

"That brother of yours!"

"What did he do?" she defended.

"Called us lovers!" he yelled back.

Kagome's eyes narrowed even more into dangerous slits, a little hurt by that comment. "Oh, that's _right_, Mr. Highand-Mighty, you can't _date_ girls that are lesser than you! You have to have a perfect slut! Well sorry for not fitting the description!"

Somewhere during the argument, both Inuyasha and Kagome had stood up, and they were standing face-to-face, with only a few centimeters separating them.

"That's not true!"

"Yeah? How are you going to prove it?"

"I don't have to!" Inuyasha replied haughtily.

"Then it's true!"

"It is not!" Inuyasha snapped. "And I _will_ prove it!"

"How?" Kagome challenged.

"Simple! Since you're going on I'm too 'high and mighty' to have someone like you be my girlfriend, I'll get a girlfriend!"

"How? You live at the center and you can't come out for dates!"

Inuyasha glared at her. "I know how we can fix this!"

"How?" Kagome demanded, her fury rising.

"Kagome Higurashi, you're going to be my girlfriend!"

"Fine!" Kagome burst, her frustration answering before she could comprehend the question properly.

00000000

**(E/N: -laughs manically- we are pulling an all nighter because I have a cold and she felt like it. W00T W00T!! I'm really hyper!! Sooo review!! Oh look a pony. -chases pony off stage-)**

**Oh... sorry about the cliffhanger... I couldn't help it...**

**Congrats to my poor beta... she's sick, but she's still** **editing for me, even though her laptop ain't working. She deserves a pat on the back... and I'd give one to her, had I not been afraid she'd puke on me if I did so...**

Review!!

**Ja ne!**


	29. Agreements and Ten Questions

Disclaimer: :Police escorting the club members to the police car:  
W- Wait! When I said I was going to take Rumiko out, I meant I was going to give her a white dog she'd be fascinated with so she'd walk it forever giving me a chance to find those papers!  
:Police officer: Yeah, yeah, lady; we hear it all the time.  
I'm serious!  
:Police: . . . I'm sure, now get in the car.  
No, look, here comes Rumiko with her white dog we got her! Look! Behind you!  
:Police: How dumb do you think I am?  
Seriously! Look! _Look!_ -gets shoved in car and voice gets muffled by glass- _Look!_ She's coming! -police get in and car drives away slowly as Rumiko walks by-  
:Rumiko: Cute doggy, you look like a dog version of Inuyasha! -walks away-  
:Random member of club: -starts running like a lunatic towards home- I got the papers! I got the papers! -gets knocked out by telephone pole . . . and papers drift into a sewer vent-  
-sees all this through back window- -gasp- _No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!_

AN: I hear the coffee . . . soon I'll be awake.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Agreement and Ten Questions

00000000

"Fine!" Kagome burst, her frustration answering before she could comprehend the question properly.

00000000

They both stood there, glowering at each other.

Each of their minds had different thoughts.

'_Kiss her senseless!'_ Inuyasha's youkai told him.

'What he roared.

'_Just do it, it'll make you feel better._'

'_Shut-_up'

Kagome, however, was trying to decide whether to hit him or not.

"I'll do it then!" she yelled at him as he sat down.

"Fine by me. . . but you have to do it for a certain amount of time."

Kagome eyed him. "How long?"

Inuyasha thought that over. "Until my birthday."

"When's that?"

Inuyasha counted the days. "About a month."

"A _month_! A whole month? How about a week?"

"No, a month."

"A week."

"A month."

"Week!"

"Month!"

"_Week_!"

"_Month_, wench, _month_!"

Kagome and Inuyasha were, once again, standing in each other's face, their noses almost touching.

"Are you two sure you're not going out?"

They both snapped their gaze in the direction of the voice. "Souta," Kagome growled dangerously. "I'm giving you to the count of two to disappear before I decide you're never leaving the house again."

Her brother was unimpressed. "You're not mom, I don't have to listen to you."

"Oh, you're right," Kagome sighed. "I guess I'll just have to give mom that picture of you and- - -"

"Fine!" Souta interrupted, growing a little pink. "I won't say it again," he grumbled.

Kagome nodded before turning to Inuyasha and considering him. After a long pause, she sighed. "Fine, a month. But no more than that!"

Inuyasha nodded. "Good, it starts today. Congratulations, you're officially my girlfriend."

"Should I feel special?" she asked him sarcastically.

"Geez, no need to be so hostile," Inuyasha murmured before grinning. "You know you were waiting for this day when you'd become _my_ girl."

Kagome thought about slapping his arm for a second before she remembered it wouldn't hurt, anyway. "Baka," she mumbled darkly.

Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms. "Damn straight!"

Kagome smiled at that. "We should be heading back soon, it's getting late."

"Oi! I didn't get my pizza!"

Kagome sighed before going to the food bar to order several more slices of pizza. A couple minutes later, she went back to the hanyou and plopped the plate on the table in front of him. "There you go."

She had barely sat down before Inuyasha was on the seconds piece. "Slow down! You're going to choke! It's not like anyone's going to take it from you."

Inuyasha was chewing on the pizza like a rabbit did a carrot when he answered, not even bothering to stop eating for a second, "Hoes what 'u 'ow! 'Ose 'amn brwats could be back at 'ny minwoot."

She wrinkled her nose. "Don't talk with your mouth full of food, or with anything in your mouth, for that matter. . ."

Inuyasha didn't answer but inhaled another slice of pizza.

"Inuyasha? You're going to choke." Inuyasha picked up the last slice and downed in less than five seconds. "Ugh, that's gross," Kagome told him.

"Aw. . . but any girl of mine has to put up with it."

She gave him a half-hearted glare. "Just shut-up."

"Make me," he teased.

Kagome's eyes narrowed at him. "We're leaving."

"We were just getting to the best part," Inuyasha remarked.

The nurse ignored him. "Souta, I'm leaving!" she called.

A few seconds later, her brother's head popped out of the bars in the top-most part of the jungle gym. "Later, sis. I'm staying here with Hatori!" he told her as his head disappeared again.

"C'mon, Inuyasha, we have to go."

The hanyou gave a small pout before following her outside.

00000000

"I take it you don't want dinner, right?"

"No," Inuyasha drawled.

Kagome rolled her eyes as she pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car. "Fine, you don't need to be so enthusiastic about it."

"It's what I do best."

"Of course; otherwise you wouldn't be Inuyasha."

"Keh, be quiet wench, you're not making sense."

She rolled her eyes before getting out.

00000000

"Okay, well, basically all that's left of the day is your session with Mr. Dai."

". . . Dammit, I was hoping you'd forget."

Kagome smile at his hopeful expression. "That's one thing I don't do easily."

"Yeah, yeah. . ." he grumbled as they entered the building.

Kagome frowned as she and her charge walked through the halls. _'His personality changes quicker than I can snap,_' Kagome told herself. _'He was friendly and joking around a few minutes ago. . ._' Kagome couldn't help but sigh. _'It's like he wears a mask in here. . ._'

"Here." She gestured toward the entrance before turning and starting to leave.

Inuyasha watched her until she turned a corner before grudgingly going through the partly open door.

00000000

"Okay, so you're saying. . .?"

"I can have you out of here before your birthday if we work together."

Inuyasha snorted. "If I've been in here the past few months with no one doing anything, what help are you going to be?"

"You just said it," Mr. Dai told him.

"What?"

"You said no one did anything to help you; I'm going to try and get you out of here, because you don't seem mentally unstable to me. Do you think you're good to go?"

Inuyasha snorted. "I was never supposed to come here."

"Really?"

"Yep. I was against this idea from the start."

The psychiatrist's brow creased. "Tell me, Inuyasha, how did you get here?"

"Uh. . . same way you did - car."

"No, I mean how did you get to have to come here?"

Inuyasha sighed. He should have known that question was going to get popped soon.

"None of your business," he said, shutting down his emotions.

"Do you still have contact with your family?"

"None of your business."

Mr. Dai leaned back against his chair. "Did you have a girlfriend before you came here?"

Inuyasha's thin patience snapped. "_None. Of. Your. Business._ Am I clear enough now?" the hanyou's voice dropped an octave as it hardened.

"Of course. I should have known you wouldn't just tell me," he sighed as he dropped his pen to rub his temples.

"Yep, you should've."

00000000

"You done here?" Kagome asked as she knocked on the door and opened it, only to see the hanyou and psychiatrist having what seemed to be a staring match.

"I was done the moment I stepped foot in here," Inuyasha told her in a duh' tone.

Mr. Dai merely nodded. "Yep, we finished up a while ago."

"Okay, Inuyasha, come one, I've got to take you back to your room now."

Inuyasha gave a long-suffering sigh before standing and following Kagome out of the room and through the hall.

"Did you get anything done?" Kagome asked as they headed back to his room.

"If you call talking about things I'm no-way-in-hell going to answer, then no."

"Oh, too bad."

"Too bad? Are you kidding me?"

Kagome shrugged as she unlocked his door. Inuyasha opened it and held it for her.

She smiled her thanks before going in, Inuyasha following. They both sat on the bed - Inuyasha at the head, Kagome at the foot.

Suddenly, Kagome gasped. "Oh! I forgot to ask you my question!"

"What question?"

"The one to go with your dinner of pizza."

"Oh. . . damn, your memory doesn't fail, does it?"

Kagome stuck out her tongue. "Okay, why do you seem. . ." she drifted off, a thoughtful expression etched across her features.

"What?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Well. . . you seem more at ease when you're not in here. Why?"

Inuyasha actually snorted. "Who wouldn't be more cheerful outside than in this. . . cage?"

Kagome shrugged. "I think there's more to it than that."

"There's not." But his tone was clipped and collected. He definitely wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Okay, do you want to play a game?"

Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. "What game is it?"

"It's new. Instead of Twenty, Questions, we're going to play Ten Questions."

The hanyou gave her a look. "It's not new, you made it up."

Kagome shrugged. "So? Do you want to play? We each get five questions. And we have to answer every one."

"There's nothing you can do that can make me answer a question if I don't want to," he warned her.

Kagome smiled sweetly. ". . . Oh, we'll see about that."

"Okay, I go first," Inuyasha said. "Do you have any secrets?"

Kagome shook her head. "Nope, my life is a boring one. So, did you love that Kikyo person?"

"_Hell_, no. Did you ever love someone?"

"Nope. No one was good enough for me."

". . . A bit stuck up, don't ya think?"

Kagome stuck out her tongue. "You're one to talk. . . Who's Rin, exactly?"

Inuyasha sighed. "A poor spirit that wandered away from her family, found Sesshoumaru, fell for the idiot, and now they plan to become mates sometime in the near future."

"Oh. . ."

"My turn. Do you think Mr. Dai is a good psychiatrist?"

"I don't know. . . he's only been here a little while. I'll have to get back to you on that one. Now it's my turn. Do you hate Rin?"

"No, she's cool. . . not cool,' but she's a sweet girl. . . the only thing I don't understand is how she feel for someone like Sesshoumaru."

"How so- - -?"

"Oi, one question at a time."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but ended up closing it, anyway.

"Thank you; now then, did yo always want to be a nurse?"

Kagome wrinkled her nose. "No, I used to think I was going to be famous. But didn't just about all little kids?" she rolled her eyes.

"Huh, no."

"Wow, what an optimistic child you must've been. . ." Seeing the look she was receiving from Inuyasha, she continued, "Fine, fine. Hey, how come you hate your brother so much?"

He gave her a look that suggested she was stupid. "He's my half-brother; he's full-youkai, as such, he hates me. The feeling just happens to be mutual."

"That's. . . awful."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Not really."

Kagome shrugged in turn, "If you say so. . ." But her tone was dubious. "Any way, it's your turn."

"I know that, wench! I'm thinking! Do you like to read?"

Kagome was a little surprised. "Uh. . . sure. . . Did you always want to be an actor?"

"No, it just kinda. . . happened."

"Happened?"

"Yep. So, here's a good question, if you were given the choice, would you want to be my girlfriend?"

Kagome thought about that. "I. . . I don't know."

Inuyasha nodded. "Same here."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "So glad we're on the same page. Oh!" Kagome looked at her wristwatch. "I need to get Ellen. Guess I'll reserve my one question for when I really want it."

"Hey, no fair! I want to reserve a question!"

"You used all yours!"

Inuyasha grumbled.

"I'll be back after I take Ellen to her room- - -"

"No."

"What?"

Inuyasha repeated himself. "No."

"Why not?"

"I'm. . . going to go to bed early. In fact, now. Good night."

Kagome sent him a curious look before relenting. "Okay, I'll see ya."

She unlocked the door, Inuyasha got up and opened it, and was about to leave.

"Your brother's okay."

Kagome's brow furrowed at the random comment. She looked over at him to see that his cheeks were a light pink.

'_He's. . . He's basically apologizing for calling Souta names. . ._' she told herself.

'_Thoughtful. . . I would have thought he'd pretend it never happened. . ._'

Then again, Inuyasha truly was a work of art.

"Right. Thanks. I'll tell him. Later."

She left and closed the door.

Inuyasha sighed before walking over to the barred window and looking out over at the sun that had a part already hidden beyond the horizon.

"Here we go," he murmured. He always hated this so much more than most. . .

00000000

**(E/N: I'm sick, too. T-T It's not fun. Ok well gotta go byez.)**

**Yay--not so much. Guess what? I'm sick!**

**And yes, I know the title resembles chapter 17's title. But just smile and nod for me, okay? It was all I could think of.** **Can anyone guess what'll happen next time? xD**

**Review, mina-san! **

**Ja ne!**


	30. Secret's Out

Disclaimer: So, as we all know, I own the whole Inu cast. -smiles blissfully, cradling copyright of Inu and co- -Knock on door- who could that—? -opens door, sees police officer- …Hello?  
:Police: I really don't want to have to arrest you. . .  
Er—that's good… But, why?  
:Police: I have no idea how you got those ownership papers . . .  
Oh?  
:Police: Yes, and I need to get some myself, and as such, I need to be your apprentice. -police gets on knees, head inclined-  
_Oh?!_ -grins a bit evilly- Come, my pet, we have work to do . . . -evil laugh-  
Tiffany (Beta): Oh god she's gonna take over the world now.

A/N: So, I hope you like this chapter. Oh, and I'm only going to warn you once: _enter only if you don't mind fluff, as this chapter contains quite a bit of it . . ._

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty: Secret's Out

00000000

"Here we go," he murmured. He always hated this so much more than most. . .

00000000

Inuyasha padded over to his bed. The sun had long since sunk. Inuyasha wasn't going to be able to sleep at all tonight, he already knew it. He flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling through the darkness of the room.

He actually found himself wishing for the company of someone else.

'_I wish Kagome was here. . ._'

He blinked. Where did that thought come from?

His nose wrinkled. He'd really been spending too much time with her lately. . . and he'd been getting too close for comfort.

'_You'd think I'd learned my lesson. . ._'

Since he had nothing else to do, Inuyasha sat in his dark room thinking, ready to do so the whole night since he had nothing better to do.

00000000

Kagome was just leaning against the wall beside Inuyasha's door.

'_Why did he tell me not to come back?_'

Maybe he really was just tired. . . it was a possibility. But the way he seemed anxious for her to get out of there was a bit. . . odd.

Kagome turned her gaze to the heavy, reinforced door. She wanted to waltz in and demand to know what was wrong with Inuyasha, but another part told her to respect his privacy.

But. . . what if he wanted company?

What if he was hurt?

What if this was one of his secrets?

Kagome blinked. _'Secrets?_'

That must be it. . . he was hiding something from her. A wave a anger washed over her, and before she could stop to think about what she was doing, Kagome unlocked the door, opened it, turned on a light, and made her way over to the lump under the large blanket.

Frowning, Kagome threw the quilt back

She was a bit. . . surprised to see the boy looking back at her.

"Inu. . . yasha?" she murmured.

The boy in the bed had his eyes closed in a rest. Suddenly, they snapped open to reveal violet orbs. Instead of long, silver hair, she saw long, dark hair. . .

Who was this is Inuyasha's room?

"Um. . . sorry for intruding, but who- - -?"

"Idiot!" the boy hissed to her. Even his voice sounded like Inuyasha's. . .

"Excuse me?"

"I told you not to come in here! I _told_ you to stay away tonight!"

Kagome merely blinked dumbly at him. "Wait. . . Inuyasha?"

"No shit! Who'd you think it was?"

"But. . . but your hair. . . your eyes. . . your ears are gone."

Inuyasha sighed as he sat up and leaned against the wall. "Suppose there's no point in hiding it anymore. . ."

Kagome merely stared. "What are you talking about?"

"You know I'm hanyou. Well, every half-demon has a time of weakness, when they lose their demonic strength. Mine is the night of the new moon."

". . . Every hanyou does?"

"Every single one."

Kagome mutely nodded. "Oh. . . why wouldn't you tell me earlier? This is that secret you were hiding from me, isn't it?"

"Keh! You think I _enjoy_ being this weak? My senses are dulled, my ears are gone, my nose just went out and _died_."

"It must be hard," she agreed in a small voice. Inuyasha looked up at her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"It must be hard having to hide every month on this night. Having to be alone for a whole night when you're feeling so exposed."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I s'pose. . ."

"Alright then, it's decided."

His dark eyes met hers in a confused stare. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I'm going to stay with you tonight. That way, you aren't alone."

"Keh!" Inuyasha huffed. "I can take care of myself."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying you can't, but you've got to get lonely."

"Not really, I'm used to being alone."

"That's also not good. Another reason why I'm staying with you."

Knowing that fighting with her would be futile, he huffed. "Suit yourself, wench."

Kagome sat on the edge of the bed.

"What do you want to do?"

"Sit and think."

"That's boring," Kagome pointed out.

"That's fine with me."

"How about we talk, instead?"

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

"I mean talk about things that you want to talk about."

"I hate this place."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I gathered that."

"Then there's nothing else to talk about."

Kagome pouted before she thought of something that might get him talking a little. "Hey, I'm your girlfriend; you have to tell me something."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Kagome smiled. "Oh, anything."

"Like?"

Kagome thought about that before frowning. "Do you trust me?"

Inuyasha gave her a look. "I guess; I mean, I sorta have to."

Kagome sighed and kneaded her lip. "Do you trust me enough to tell me what happened to you?"

Inuyasha visibly tensed.

There was a long, silent pause.

Finally, Inuyasha broke it. His voice was tight, but still friendly. "Kagome, I _will_ tell you. . . just. . . not tonight."

Kagome nodded mutely, looking away. "I understand. . . Of course I understand." Feeling mentally vulnerable was hard enough, but feeling mentally vulnerable _and_ physically was too much to force on Inuyasha. "We'll talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"Um. . . well, we'll talk about our childhood."

". . . What?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

Inuyasha looked huffily at the wall. "No, I ain't doing it."

"Then what do you want to do?"

He shrugged and grumbled, "I dun know."

Kagome sighed in exasperation. "Then how about we talk about past relationships?"

"What?"

"You know, I talk about my relationship with Hojo and you talk about you and Kikyo."

Inuyasha was about to refuse when he thought about something.

'_Wait a second. . . she'll talk about her relationship with Hoho. . . Maybe I can get her to tell me whether or not she really liked him._'

He sighed, making it look like he was reluctant. "Fine."

"Okay. . . um, I'll go first."

"Keh, I wasn't going to have it any other way," he informed her.

She rolled her eyes. "I met him just a little while ago in my last year of school. He was. . . interesting, I have to say."

"Interesting, how?"

Kagome thought about that, measuring her words when she answered. "He was. . . very. . . unique. He was a charmer, of course, and a little dense when it came to women."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, that's why it didn't work. He was too. . . innocent. He was the polite, Prince Charming that every girl wanted because he'd always be giving you flowers, complimenting you, and offering to do some random, nice things."

"Like what?"

Kagome shrugged. "Like offering to carry my books, my back pack, give me notes when I was sick, always paying for our dates, and things like that."

Inuyasha felt something hot in his stomach. "Oh?"

"Yeah, he was kinda cute, too."

And it seemed to grow hotter every second. . . and growled that he needed to _kill_ this Hobo-guy that touched Kagome. . .

Kagome smiled wistfully. "Sometimes I find myself thinking that I shouldn't have broken up with him and that he was the perfect guy for me."

He refused to think the thing in him was a little. . . actually, a _monstrous_ case of jealousy.

He failed.

"But then I remember how many times I saw we had _huge_ differences. And a sweet, charming, innocent guy isn't going to be what I need. Every girl needs a guy whose there to have a shoulder for her when she cries, screams with her when she's angry, and laughs when she's happy."

'_I'd do that for you,'_ he wanted to tell her, but brought himself back to reality himself, shaking himself mentally. _'Just kidding!_' he tried to convince himself.

He failed again.

"So, I had to end our relationship. He wasn't going to do that. . . he'd panic if I ever got angry or sad or anything. He can only handle girls when they're happy. He wouldn't. . . well, as my mother said, he wouldn't take proper care of me, so. . . I stopped seeing him. . . completely." She smiled sadly at the end. "He would've made a good friend, but I haven't seen him since I graduated."

"Oh. . ." _'I might just actually kill him now. . ._'

"Your turn."

"Oh? Oh, wait, right. Well, I met Kikyo when I was little. She was my best. . ." Inuyasha stopped, as though he realized something and shook his head. "No, she was my _only_ friend at that time. And as such, I was very protective of her."

"I'd guess so."

"When we started high school, she got really clingy and decided we were going to go out. . . she didn't give me much choice in the matter. I _was_ going to tell her no when she started to cry. . . so I had to comply to her wishes." He rolled his eyes at the memory. "She always did seem to find a way to get her way," he mumbled before continuing. "Well, anyway, I started to date her. . . I think it was more 'dating' on her part than mine. . . I looked at it as a _do-it-or-you'll-make her-cry_ thing, and she looked at as a _he-likes-me-and-wants-to-date-me_ thing. Besides," he shrugged, "I didn't really think I like-liked her that way, but she was probably the most precious person in the world to me. So I guess I also did it to see if maybe I _did_ like her. . ."

He grimaced. "Sometimes I wish I could re-live the past and change some things. Had I not started dating her. . ." he drifted off, closing his eyes and shaking his head as his mind re-lived a memory that must not have been a good, happy one.

Kagome cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present. "Is there more?" she asked gently.

"It wasn't long before she was talking about marriage, kids, and things like that. She started talking about mating, things she didn't truly understand. I told her over and over again that she didn't know what she was talking about and tried to tell her that youkai mating was for _life_. But every time, she waved me off and said she already knew. I think she thought 'forever' meant as long as she wanted, and when she was done with me, she could leave." He stopped to roll his eyes. "Sometimes her stupidity was a bit surprising.

"Well, one time, after asking me to propose to her, I snapped and told her forever meant _forever-_forever. And that I couldn't just go about and mate someone when I was still in high school and in a tight place with work and such. So. . . she told. . . no, I suppose she _vowed_ to do whatever she could to make it easier on me and my job so that we could mate."

Inuyasha looked out the window before sighing. "Caring about my job more than anything - including her dignity, her pride, and her_self_ - was what brought it all about," he mumbled.

Kagome swallowed, not sure as to what Inuyasha's words meant. Hesitantly, she asked, "What do you mean. . . it brought it all about?"

Inuyasha didn't answer; his eyes didn't leave the window.

Kagome hadn't really expected an answer. "Inu. . . yasha?"

Inuyasha merely frowned, scowled really, as something flashed through his violet orbs. It wasn't anger, though - more like something he wanted to forget.

"Sometimes," he whispered - his gaze still on the window, "I wonder, _what would've happened to him? What would've happened to_ her _had I not made such_ _a stupid mistake like that?_"

Kagome cocked her head at him. "Inuyasha? Who are you talking about?" she asked quietly, not wanting to startle him, so that he wouldn't pull away when he was telling her such things. . .

His gaze snapped to her face and his brow rose, as though he realized something. "Hey. . . you look like her. . ." his voice was soft; so soft, Kagome barely heard him.

"Who?"

Inuyasha didn't answer - not that Kagome was really surprised.

Instead, he looked back out the window. The miko sighed before leaning back against the wall, her legs dangling over the side of the bed.

After a few minutes, she murmured, "Inuyasha?"

He slowly blinked. "I have to stay up all night. . ."

Upon hearing that, Kagome sat straight up, alarmed, and glanced at him. She inched her way closer to him before putting her hand in his and lacing their fingers.

Inuyasha jumped, apparently coming out of a daze, and stared at her with a dumb look.

Kagome merely smiled. "You may have to stay up all night since you find the need to, but. . . that doesn't mean you're going to do it alone. I'm going to stay with you, remember? And I'll stay up all night if you want me to."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes a fraction of an inch. "Keh! Whatever!"

She sighed, her shoulders slumping, as she let her body fall back against the wall. The moment was over. . .

Somehow, Kagome felt a little hurt that he brushed her off. . . _'Stupid me - I should've_ known _he wasn't going to care. I should've- - -_'

She managed to give a squeak of surprise when she felt a warm pair of muscular arms go around her shoulders. She was even more surprised when she was pulled against someone's chest.

"Thanks," Inuyasha murmured into her hair, "you know. . . for staying with me."

Kagome just blinked in surprise before uttering, "It- It's fine. I just didn't want you to be alone."

He dropped to his side like a rock, dragging the ever-so-more shocked girl along with him. Kagome felt her heart rate accelerate when she felt the mattress come under her with a thud and Inuyasha didn't let go.

She managed to stay up all night.

She even had decent conversations with him - Inuyasha telling her some hopes, Kagome telling him some of her dreams. . .

But the whole night, Inuyasha didn't once let her go - and wouldn't sit up.

00000000

**(E/N: Hello ya'll!! I liked this chapter a lot. It made a good end to my vacation. I went to Chicago to see Wicked the musical. Yep so if you liked this chapter I want you to review. Ok well Byez everyone!!)**

**Sorry if you hate fluff and started choking . . . But to the rest of you, how was it? I eagerly await your feedback (since I'm still learning how to write this thing called "fluff").**

**This was a shorter chapter… Sawwy. Next time it gets more interesting, I promise!!**

**Thanks for continuing to read, though! I appreciate it!!**

**R&R!**

**Ja ne!**


	31. The Morning After

Disclaimer: So what have we learned?

:Police: Um… you don't own Inuyasha?

_No_! I have the ownership papers right here! Look!

:Police: Um… they're in black crayon…

-Scowls- Your point?

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers! I _so_ love you all! I couldn't write this (piece of crap) without you! Even though I think this fic is the worst thing in the world, your kind words always get me through and make me wanna write it—just for you! :)

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-One: The Morning After

00000000

But the whole night, Inuyasha didn't once let her go - and wouldn't sit up.

00000000

Kagome sighed as she rolled over to face Inuyasha. "Sun-up's soon," she murmured.

He merely nodded.

"Today's the last day if your punishment." She smiled. "After this, you're free."

"Keh," Inuyasha huffed quietly. "You act like I've actually committed a crime."

Kagome grinned. "Aw, but you did. You. . .you _questioned_ me," she said, acting like she was hurt, pouting.

Inuyasha wasn't impressed with her show and rolled his eyes to tell her so.

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. Inuyasha stared at it and growled. "Kagome, I swear, if you don't put that away, and keep it away, I'll be forced to do something."

Kagome blinked, swallowing, as she convinced herself he was still playing. "Like what?" she demanded, her voice quivering a little.

"Like this." Without warning Inuyasha rolled over and arranged his legs - one on either side of Kagome - so that he was straddling her. Then he dipped his head down, hovering just inches above hers, and slowly grew closer.

Kagome mentally gasped, surprised at the sudden change in mood. Her heart rate accelerated and she tried to calm it - to no avail, however. She could she Inuyasha drawing closer, and panicked. The only thing that scared her more than Inuyasha at that moment was that she didn't want to push away.

She felt something warm on her back before she saw it. The long rays lengthened to cover part of the room in thin strips. Kagome realized that it was the sun.

So did Inuyasha.

He pulled away, squinting out his window against the sun. And suddenly, he was changing again.

Kagome's eyes widened as the boy who was lying besides her starting to pulsate. His long, dark hair turned back to its usual silver color, his fingernails lengthened into claws, and his teeth grew longer and sharper - fangs.

His arms tightened around her as his eyes snapped open, greeting her with his shockingly amber orbs.

"Inuyasha. . ."

He blinked at her, realizing their position, and rolled off of her quickly.

'_Damn. . . One thing I hate about the new moon: I can't control my human emotions as well._'

"Um. . . sorry," he apologized, his cheeks exploding in a burst of color.

Kagome felt her heart sink and she couldn't figure out why. "Oh, um, it's. . . fine." _Why would you do something like that and then just apologize?_' Kagome couldn't help but think, confusion and hurt laced in her thoughts.

Inuyasha grumbled something inaudible, cheeks still pink.

'_Heh, this is better than before,_' a highly-amused voice almost purred.

'_So you decide to join me?_' Inuyasha dryly commented.

'_Mm-hmm._'

'_Where were you last night?'_ he asked suspiciously.

'_Here._'

'_Why weren't you jabbering away like usual, then?_'

'_. . . Oh, I don't_ _know._'

'_Is that sarcasm I smell?_'

'_How can you smell it, baka, it's not tangible._'

'_Shut-up.'_

His answer was an amused, '_Hn._'

Kagome cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present. "I'm- - -" her voice was scratchy, so she cleared her throat again and tried once more. "I'm- - -" This time it was a squeak, and Kagome put a hand to her face and cleared her throat again before grumbling incoherent things.

Inuyasha couldn't help but grin at the show. "Poor Kaggy," he teased.

Her eyes narrowed in an icy glare. "Shut-up," she mumbled, her voice reverting back to normal.

Yawning, Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "There's nothing you can do to stop me," he pointed out.

"Oh, really?" Kagome challenged.

"Hell, yeah."

"I could just. . . _accidentally_ forget to bring you breakfast," Kagome murmured in a voice that suggested she was talking to herself.

Inuyasha didn't buy her act. "And what will Kaede say when I tell her you starved me?"

"Give me a break!" Kagome retorted. "It's one meal!"

"But it's one meal that I wouldn't get!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Be that way, pretty boy; I've got to go and _get_ your breakfast."

He nodded. "Yep, that's right; time for my maid to fetch me some grub."

Kagome's eyebrow rose. "I am _not_ your maid. And for your information, I might now completely skip the task of fetching your. . . 'grub' and instead go on with my schedule for your smart comment."

Inuyasha could tell she was only half serious - if that - by the teasing glint in her eyes. So he wasn't worried. "I'd prefer if you would just go on with your job and bring me my breakfast."

Kagome smiled so that she appeared thoughtful. "I do believe that I said I wasn't going to bring you breakfast. Does your mind fail you?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Maybe you said that, but you'd never leave a poor, innocent, hungry, _adorable_ hanyou to starve for your own evil purposes. You can't be that cruel."

"Hmmm," Kagome hummed, appearing to mull his words over. "What hanyou are we talking about here? The only one I see happens to be butt-ugly."

"Oh," Inuyasha scowled, "now _that_ was low."

Kagome laughed. "I couldn't resist - you totally walked into that one."

Inuyasha's scowl darkened as he reluctantly realized that she was right. "I'm hungry," he stated, bringing the topic back to his breakfast.

Kagome rolled her eyes before rolling off of his bed. "I suppose I better. . . uh. . ." Looking down at herself, Kagome saw the state she was in. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Kagome raked her fingers through her only-slightly messed hair. She nearly sighed in frustration when she realized that did nothing to help her.

"Ya look fine, so just go already," Inuyasha grumbled, his stomach growling and seconding his words.

Kagome turned narrowed eyes in his direction. "Just shut-up for a second, okay?" she told him before turning her attention back to her rumpled clothes. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and tugged it down in an attempt to straighten out the slightly-rumpled garment. Seeing that it did nothing to help its appearance, she sighed before flipping a loose lock of hair over her shoulder, Kagome sighed again. She looked over her shoulder at Inuyasha - who made sure to rotate his hand in a circle, signaling her to hurry - before turning back to the door and unlocking it.

"Wench," Inuyasha growled when her hands was barely a millimeter away from the door. And then he was there beside her, his hand firmly grasping the handle to open the door. "I open the doors, remember?" he finished in a tone that told her she had better agree.

Kagome came close to rolling her eyes but resisted, instead saying, "Why, Inuyasha, I never knew you were so sweet!" before she could stop to think about it.

Inuyasha's right brow rose. "Don't mention it," he replied evenly, not letting the way-too-sarcastically sweet tone bug him as the nurse slipped out of the door, which closed firmly behind her.

"And it had better be a good breakfast, too," Inuyasha muttered, apparently to the nurse who was no longer within ear shot or in his room as he turned and made his way back to his bed.

"Like ramen."

00000000

"_What_ is _that_?" Inuyasha demanded the moment he opened his door for the returning nurse a while later.

"Breakfast," was her smooth reply.

"No, it's not," the hanyou retorted.

Kagome came close to snorting as Inuyasha seemed to prod at his tray with his eyes.

"You've never heard of turkey on waffles?"

Inuyasha pinned her with slit golden eyes. "It's a waffle with- - -" his eyes wandered back to his breakfast as he thought of the right word, "- - -unidentified _things_ on top of it. I prefer syrup, if anything."

Kagome put his tray on his stand with a 'clack.' She then picked up the fork that was next to the waffles and prodded at the pieces of meat. "Actually, it looks like a turkey neck. . . and maybe some gizzards here or there for flavoring. . ."

"_Gizzards_?" Inuyasha nearly sputtered.

Kagome waved a hand at him as she smiled. "I was kidding; I was kidding, I swear."

Inuyasha, however, didn't care. The benefit of the doubt had been placed. The one time he actually _wanted_ to eat and he couldn't. "I'm not going near it," he stated before plopping down on his bed.

Kagome sighed. "Then you're going to starve."

Inuyasha frowned as his brow creased. Feeling a small pang of hunger, he looked over at the tray. Upon seeing what was there, he wrinkled his nose and looked away. "That's fine so long as you get that _thing_ away from me."

"No," was her simple reply.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he demanded, "Why?"

"I need to ask you my question before I take that back."

Sighing in feigned defeat, Inuyasha limply flopped backwards on his bed to stare at the ceiling. "Shoot," he told her.

"How many people know about your human night?"

Inuyasha messed up his face. That was an unexpected question. . .

"Four people," he answered, not even bothering to sit up as he crossed his arms across his chest. "My mother, my father, my brother, and Miroku."

"Miroku knew?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he told her in an _isn't-it-obvious_ tone.

"Well, ex_cu-u-use_ me. I didn't mean to offend," Kagome answered sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm so offended," he retorted, finally sitting up.

"I was being _sarcastic_," she snapped, her patience thinning.

Inuyasha blinked at her innocently. "I couldn't tell."

Kagome resisted the urge to thwack him. "Just shut up," she growled.

"I don't wanna," he informed her with a shrug.

Kagome groaned. "Dang it! I miss the Inuyasha I used to know that I couldn't get a word out of from when I first got here," she complained.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort when he stopped, a little taken aback. "Keh," he finally said, "I was _never_ 'hard to get a word out of'."

Kagome gave him a look that clearly suggested she was seeing an extra head starting to grow on him somewhere.

"It's true!" he defended.

'_You sure about that?_'

Inuyasha mentally huffed at the annoying voice of his youkai. _'Yes! I am, actually!_'

There was a second pause. _'Well, in any case, you're much more lax around her, answering her questions with more ease – you're even answering comments more frequently now – and you're really enjoying her presence. Dare I say it – you're starting to rely on her being here._'

Inuyasha was about to snap at how stupid saying that was when Kagome cut in. "I'm sure you weren't," she commented dryly. "But you do know that our little One Question game has really made a difference in your social skills? You don't snap at me twenty-four-seven."

Inuyasha wasn't enlightened when he realized that was true. "Oi!" he grumbled since it was all he could think of to reply. "Not true."

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

"What now, wench?"

"You're blushing."

"I am not, wench."

"Of course you're not."

Huffing, Inuyasha's slightly pink face darkened. "Keh."

"Inuyasha?"

"Now what?"

"As much as I'm enjoying seeing you act all sissy with that blushing problem of yours, you have an appointment with Mr. Dai."

Inuyasha sighed and leaned back on the palms of his hands. "I know," he replied softly. "I _always_ have an appointment with him. . . I'm just a crazy teen, after all. . ."

"What was that?" Kagome asked him over her shoulder as she slid her I.D. card through the reader.

"Keh! Nothing, wench. Let's go, already. It's going to be lunch before you do anything!" He then opened the door and they headed towards the psychiatrist's office.

00000000

There was a long pause. "_Excuse_ me?"

Mr. Dai nearly sighed in exasperation. "You heard me. How do you feel when in love?"

Regaining his composure, Inuyasha huffed. "How the hell should I know?"

The psychiatrist gave him a look. "I know you've loved at least one person in your life, Inuyasha."

The hanyou shrugged in reply. "I'm afraid I haven't."

"Do you have parents?"

Golden eyes narrowed as he realized where this was going. "Yes," he answered slowly.

"Did you ever love- - -"

"Nope," Inuyasha interjected in a harsh tone.

Mr. Dai's brow furrowed. "Touchy subject?" he guessed.

"Now why would you say that?" the hanyou remarked sarcastically.

"Sine you and your parent don't seem to get along and noting your behavior towards your family, I take it you and your brother had. . . issues?"

The hanyou almost snorted at the lightly used word 'issues.' 'Issues' came nowhere close to explaining the tension between Sesshoumaru and himself. "You could say we're. . . competitive."

Mr. Dai smiled - Inuyasha noted that he looked slightly different when he did that. "Aren't all siblings that way? I used to outdo my older brother."

Inuyasha nearly rolled his eyes. The stupid psychiatrist and his brother probably fought over who could throw a ball farther or who was more popular with girls. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru however fought over who was better at _everything_: who was more famous with the paparazzi, which had more fans, who was the strongest fighter - since their father had insisted on training them in the ways of their youkai ancestor - who had their mother's favor, who had their father's favor. _'Hell, we even fought over who our dog liked best,_' Inuyasha told himself, remembering the incident a few years ago where their dog had almost been shredded over the two siblings fighting over it.

"I don't think your rivalry was much like ours," the hanyou finally told Mr. Dai.

"And why not?" The question wasn't defensive, more like curious.

"I don't think you tried to kill each other - quite literally - over who your mother and father favored."

Mr. Dai's eyebrows rose. "Your parents played favorites?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "My father liked Sesshoumaru better because he was full youkai. So my mother took me under her wing and she watched out for me; protected me. I liked her hell of a lot more than I did my father."

"You had to have loved her," Mr. Dai told him, returning to the earlier topic.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" came the skeptical tone of the psychiatrist.

"What love feels like," Inuyasha clarified, a little annoyed at the look in Mr. Dai's eyes that seemed to ask _are you stupid or what?_

"It. . ." Mr. Dai let off, thinking about that for a few seconds before continuing, "It's a feeling you get. When in love, it seems that you can see stars shining in the day, see roses bloom right before your eyes, and even defy gravity. Your heart always flutters around that person - especially when you realize you love them - and every time you touch, your skin tingles."

Inuyasha's right eye brow rose in question.

"Um, yeah, I sound _really_ _girly,_ but I'm engaged, so can you blame me?" he asked a little sheepishly, his cheeks turning a little red in embarrassment, at sounding 'girly.'

Inuyasha wanted to groan at the psychiatrist.

00000000

"Have fun?"

"_Keh!_ I have to say, you're unbelievable, wench," Inuyasha grumbled as he flopped into a sitting position on his bed.

"But did you?"

A dark glare was her answer.

"Okay. D'ya. . . learn anything?" Kagome asked, a little desperate to keep a conversation going on his sessions and progress with the psychiatrist.

"_It's a feeling you get. When in love, it seems that you can see stars shining in the day, see roses bloom right before your eyes, and even defy gravity."_

Inuyasha blinked in surprise at the voice of Mr. Dai that somehow found its way into his head.

"Nope," Inuyasha finally answered realizing Kagome was still waiting for an answer.

'_Shoot,_' Inuyasha grumbled, thinking about what the stupid psychiatrist had said. '_That's kinda how I feel around Kagome. . ._'

00000000

**(E/N: I'm sorry I made you endure her grammar, that is getting better, for so long. I finally got around to editing this lovely story. I would like to tell you all that my Spring Break is one day away!! Also, the zombie is doing fine. He has recently learned how to bake MUFFINS!! Alright well I want all of you to review and maybe that will make Sayo124 write faster.)**

**Irk. It took me nearly a month to update… and this chapter along with several others have been written for a long time. –slaps forehead- I just get so caught up in reading Fics that I forget to update mine… -winces- Forgive me?**

**Review, one and all!!**

**Ja ne!**


	32. Just for Her

Disclaimer: Now that I have the ownership papers—

:Police man cuts in: They're written in black crayon. I don't think they count.

-Glowers at the guy- I _told_ you already, if they say 'copyright Inuyasha blah, blah, blah,' they count legally.

:Police: …Fine and dandy, but they're also written on the back of coloring book pages.

-Scowls again and looks at papers- How'd that happen…?

A/N: Thank you one and all for your kind words!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Two: Just for Her

00000000

'_Aw, dammit,'_ Inuyasha grumbled, thinking about what the stupid psychiatrist had said. '_That's kinda how I feel around Kagome. . ._'

00000000

"Do you do _anything_ that's fun?"

"Keh; of course I do. It's merely your opinion of what fun is that sets up apart."

Kagome snorted. "I never mentioned anything about us being set apart."

The hanyou nearly rolled his eyes. "You didn't say anything on that topic, actually."

Kagome blew her bangs off her forehead before flopping onto the bed next to Inuyasha on her back in a totally bored fashion. "We need something to do," she told him in a completely casual way.

"No, _we_ don't, but _you_ may feel free to do something by leaving my room."

"Aw, but you'd be lonely without me." She said that in a semi sing-song voice and batted her lashes at him innocently.

Inuyasha snorted.

"It's true."

"Mm-hmm," he hummed in reply; "I'm sure."

Kagome sighed as a short silence passed. Seconds ticked away with Inuyasha staring out the window and Kagome desperately racking her brain for something fun to do.

"I know!" she cried suddenly, bolting up.

"Will you stop that kami-awful racket? I _would_ like to leave this place, eardrums intact."

"We can make our own game!" the nurse continued, most likely not hearing Inuyasha's comment in her excitement.

Inuyasha;s mouth, which had been open, ready to make more smart remarks, abruptly snapped shut as he gaped at her.

Kagome could have sworn she heard crickets from somewhere outside.

"Inuyasha?" she tentatively asked.

"Are you _stupid_? 'Make our own game'? _Keh!_ You sound like a child."

Kagome glared before saying, "If _you_ don't want to help, than I'll make the game myself."

The hanyou rolled his eyes and grumbled incoherent curses of exasperation.

"I know right now what I want our game to revolve around," Kagome informed him, grinning.

Inuyasha, despite his better judgment, hesitantly asked, "What?"

"Questions on each other!"

He made a face.

"Oh, come off it, it's not that bad."

"That's easy for you to say; you're a goody-goody two shoes."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Of course I am; Im just an innocent little lamb that _never_ does anything wrong or make bad choices."

"Is that sarcasm? What could you have _possibly_ done that could be considered bad? Oh, did you yell at some little kid for being a brat?"

"_No_; you'll have to find out through the game what I did, now won't you?"

Inuyasha sighed. "I'm not playing a stupid- - -"

"And if you lie when answering a question, there will be repercussions," she continued, brow furrowed in thought.

Rolling his eyes at her antics, he mumbled, "This isn't even a _game_, it's more like Twenty Questions, only no one knows how many questions there'll be."

Kagome apparently didn't hear him as she continued to make up her little 'game.' "Hmm, I suppose I could have it that you're able to skip. . . two? No, three questions, if you really don't want to answer them. . ."

"Will you shut up already? I'm not going to play this stupid game- - -"

"Alright!" Kagome interjected, beaming. "We can begin now!"

Inuyasha shot her a look. "You really need to start paying attention. I said I'm not playing your awful excuse of a game."

"Aw, come on, Inuyasha. It'll be fun!" Kagome pleaded.

"Hell, no," was his automatic reply.

"Please?"

"No."

Kagome furrowed her brow as she gave him a pathetic look. "Please?"

'_How can you resist that? She looks so cute!'_ came the non-wanted comment from Inuyasha's youkai.

'_Oh, shut up, I didn't ask your opinion. Besides, you sound like a wimp calling her cute._'

There was a snort. _'You're thinking the exact same thing, whether or not you want to admit it._'

Inuyasha shook his head in answer to his nurse. ". . . Didn't I say no?" Despite his words, he looked a little torn.

"_Please_?" she asked again, clasping her hands in front of her chest, her eyes pleading

His resolve to deny her crumbled. "Well. . ." he started, not wanting to make it clear that she had done more than persuade him. He cleared his throat and answered, "Keh, I suppose I have no choice."

Kagome beamed, her face lighting up brilliantly. "Yay!" she cheered. Impulsively, she leaned towards him to give him a hug.

Inuyasha was _not_ expecting that.

His whole body tensed in surprise as she pressed her cheek against his chest. Memories came flying back - memories of someone else doing almost the exact same thing, only that particular person was someone who he currently couldn't stand.

'_Kikyou._' The name rang in his mind and his face contorted in disgust.

"Thank you," came a soft murmur, tone overflowing with happiness and sincerity.

Inuyasha then remembered that it wasn't Kikyou who was pressed against him, but his nurse. He relaxed slightly before remembering his place and huffed, pulling away. "What the hell do you think you're doing, wench?" he demanded, feigning indignation.

"Oh, _puh_-leez, I'm your girlfriend, remember? It's- It's my _right_ to hug you."

Inuyasha stared at her for a second before sighing and turning so that he was parallel with her, all the while giving her a pitying look. "Okay, wench. You didn't know this, so I'll tell you now: no touchie."

Kagome snorted.

"I'm quite serious."

"Oh, of _course_ you are," Kagome agreed.

"I am."

"I know."

"Sure you do."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Now we're going to play my game."

Inuyasha groaned.

"Hey, you agreed!" Kagome frowned.

"I shouldn't have."

The nurse gave him a withering look before beaming. "Here's how we do this: I'll start by asking you a question, and you have to answer. Every time you answer with the truth, you get a point. Every time you lie, you lose five points- - -"

"Five?" Inuyasha cut in.

"Yes, five. Now shut-up for thirty seconds so I can finish, please. Thank you; now, when we don't have any more questions we want to ask, or if we run out of time, the person with the most point wins. That person can have anything they want as a prize, except- - -"

"Okay, wench, it's been thirty seconds," Inuyasha interjected.

Kagome scowled at him. "I'm not done."

"Yes, you are."

Her scowl darkened. "No, I'm _not_."

"Either you're done giving instructions or I'm not playing."

Kagome huffed at him before sulkily saying, "Fine then. Let's get started. Oh, I start," she quickly blurted the last part before Inuyasha could say anything against her. "Okay, so, Inuyasha, were you close to either of your parents?"

Inuyasha, in reply, shrugged. "Not really. My father wanted an heir. Sesshoumaru really suited his tastes more than I did, since he's full youkai and I'm a half breed. My mother, seeing how it would be very easy for me to grow up scorned, took care of me. She was more of a parent than my father. I suppose that I really was happy with her."

Kagome cocked her head at his tone. "What happened? You sound like you hate her now."

Amber eyes gazed out the window and Kagome couldn't completely see his expression. "I grew up."

"Wha- - -?"

Inuyasha cut her off. "Oi! You're doing that thing again! One question at a time, wench. Geez."

Kagome pouted but stopped her next question. "Fine then, it's your turn."

"Good, now that I'm the one to ask you a question, it's going to be a good one. . ."

"By the way, you got a point," Kagome told him as an afterthought.

"I'm not going to waste my question like you do," he continued, giving her a withering look for interrupting him. "So, Kagome, have you always wanted to be a nurse?"

"Oh, yeah, you're not wasting your questions," Kagome couldn't help but tease.

"I'm not, I'm asking a very legitimate question."

"Oo, where'd you learn such big words?"

Inuyasha scowled at her and changed the topic. "Are you going to answer or not?"

Kagome shook her head. "I didn't always want to be a nurse _first_. I was thinking that I'd be a nurse if my first career choice turned out to be a flunk – which it was."

"What was it – your first choice?"

"Oh, now look who's asking more than one question."

Inuyasha gave her a dry look. "Fine, be that way."

Kagome smiled innocently. "My turn, and oh, yeah, I got a point."

"I know when you're given points and when you're not, wench. I'm not quite _that_ stupid."

"You sure about that?"

Inuyasha sent her a half-hearted glare.

Kagome laughed before going back to their game. "Will you tell me a little about Kikyou?"

An alarm went of in Inuyasha's head. There was a three second silence as Inuyasha considered Kagome. Finally, he hesitantly answered, deciding to ignore the frantic warning he was receiving. "I already told you some about her."

"Will you tell me a little more?"

Going beyond boundaries, ones he was uncomfortable out of, he slowly replied, "I told you how and where I met her. We became incredibly close up into High School. But it was right after her sixteenth birthday that she asked me if we could date. . . I don't think I've ever been so shocked in my life. I would have said no, but. . . I knew that if I did, I'd make her cry, and then she'd feel hurt, and that might've seriously hurt our friendship. So, I did what any guy under pressure would do. . . Or, at least, what any guy that I know would do - I panicked, gave in, and said yes. She was the only person who I would call a friend without a moment's doubt, and all I wanted to do was keep her happy since she always made me happy.

"But, saying yes to her was the worst thing I could have ever done. Soon after that, she started talking about how wonderful it was to be married and heavily hinting that she'd like to. . . 'settle down,' as she called it. But I didn't really look at her as a girlfriend, not really. We went on dates, sure. She made sure I held her hand all the time, yes. But that was all. I made sure of that. I don't know where the idea of marriage - or mating - came from, but she was dead set on it. . . I tried to tell her that I seriously wasn't ready for a thing like that since work was a taxing enough responsibility, and I tried to explain that by youkai custom, I had to mate for life - she couldn't change her mind in a few years and want a divorce or something. She, of course, said that was fine and she wanted nothing less."

Inuyasha sighed at the memory. "But I seriously couldn't see her as my mate - just a friend who had maybe lost her mind in taking such a strong liking to me. I tried to tell her that in every possible way that I wasn't ready, but she never picked up on it. . . Like I already said, I _really_ should've just said no to begin with, but looking at her desperate eyes when she asked me. . ."

Kagome swallowed at all the new information. "You did it for her?"

The hanyou nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Do you think that your friendship _would_ have fallen apart, like you thought, if you had refused?" Kagome couldn't stop herself from asking.

"I. . . really don't think so. She might have sulked for a while, possibly even cried for some time, but. . . she would have never just abandon our friendship. I was stupid in thinking she would."

Kagome shrugged. "No, you acted like anyone would have, given the situation: you're only friend is expecting a little more from you and you don't want to give it. If you refuse, why wouldn't they leave? You'd be afraid that they would be disappointed in you."

Inuyasha didn't answer, but looked out the window.

Sensing the atmosphere was growing gloomy, Kagome continued, "Hey, you got your point, now you have to ask me a question."

"What was your first career choice?" he asked without hesitation.

"To be an author."

"I don't see how that could have- - - wha?"

"To be an author," she repeated.

"Uh. . . why?"

Kagome shrugged. "When I was little, the only thing I knew about my father was that he liked to read. But every single book he read had a not-so-happy ending. He liked these author's who made excellent plots, but miserable - literally - endings. It's stupid, but I made a vow to become an author one day and write a book that he'd love that a happy ending for once. . . But I was excellent in school, skipping two grades, one in elementary and one in High School, and my mom was expecting me to go on to college or something. . . so I did, for her, because my father left us and it was my mother who was more important in my life."

Inuyasha blinked. "That's kinda depressing."

Kagome snorted. "Things like that happen often with people, I'm sure. Especially in today's world."

Inuyasha sighed, leaning back on hands. "That's a point for you."

"Now it's my turn! Okay, so, did you ever love someone?"

Inuyasha gave her a look that suggested she had grown some sort of alien appendage.

"Fine then, I'll ask something else. . . um, do you currently love someone?"

"How is that any different?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Hey, my last question was if you _ever_, this one is if you _do_. Big difference, see?"

Inuyasha snorted.

"Just answer."

"Neh."

Kagome sighed. "What type of answer is that?"

"I'll skip this one."

Kagome was about to say he couldn't do that when she remembered she had said he could skip three questions. A few seconds after remembering that, she gave Inuyasha a shocked look. While he hadn't been admitting he loved someone, he wasn't exactly denying it, either.

"Okay, then," Kagome finally said after she had shook herself back to reality. "No points awarded to you."

Inuyasha looked like he was seriously thinking about his next question when Kagome piped up. "Oh, it's time for me to get your lunch."

"Oi!" he protested. "I had a good one!"

Kagome gave him an innocent smile. "Well, I did say that if we ran out of time, the winner was whoever had the most points. And that person is me!"

"But I had a good one that you would've skipped and then it'd be a tie!"

Kagome's smile widened. "Too bad, I win! We can play again, sometime, though, if you want."

Inuyasha grumbled about stupid wenches and their stupid plagiarized games.

"Hey, it's not plagiarized!"

"It's almost like Twenty Questions."

"But it's not! It's different! In my game, you get points."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

Kagome was about to make another retort when she stopped herself. "Hey, are you distracting me from the fact that I won and now get a prize - being just about anything I want?"

". . .No."

Kagome laughed at him. "Okay, I'll collect my prize later, but now I really need to get your lunch."

"Keh, fine then, wench."

Kagome stood up and stretched before heading over to the door, sliding her I.D. card. Inuyasha, who had followed her, opened the door and held it open like a footman would for a princess. "Madame," he said in a highly sarcastic voice, giving a mock bow.

Kagome gave an overdramatic Miss America wave before stepping outside. "See you in a few minutes."

"Yep." And then she he shut the door.

'_I can't believe you told her so much about Kikyou._'

Inuyasha huffed. _'Shut-up._'

'_You're really starting to take a shine to her, aren't you?_'

'_I said shut-up._'

'_Say, why did you skip that one particular question?_'

'_Shut-up,_' Inuyasha repeated again, his tone becoming dangerous.

'_Oo, don't tell me that the hard-hearted Inuyasha is actually falling in love._'

'_Alright then I won't. I don't love anyone. I_ can't _love anyone. So you can just stop thinking that I like Kagome._'

'_Who said I was thinking it was Kagome?_'

Inuyasha gave a few choice curses, cheeks turning slightly pink. _'Don't you know what shut-up means?_'

00000000

**Right. One more chapter written and complete. Huzzah. I know for a fact that you guys are going to like the next two chapters. Oh, why, you ask? –maniacal **_**I know something you don't know**_** laughter that only an author can make-**

**I have almost the whole story written now… only a few more chapters. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of February and then edit it and gradually post it. Huzzah! But, ug, I have projects due out of my dairy-air currently. UGugUGugUGug. Wish me luck with all that crap.**

**R&R!**

**Ja ne!**


	33. Simply Because

Disclaimer: … … … … …Yep… I own…

-Police men knock on door-

I meant don't! I meant don't! I meant don't!!

A/N: -cackles- I know for a fact that you'll like what happens in this chapter. -cackles again-

AGE:

Inuyasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Three: Simply Because

00000000

Inuyasha gave a few choice curses, cheeks turning slightly pink. '_Don't you know what shut-up means?_'

00000000

Inuyasha, for once, looked happier than ever.

"What?" Kagome asked, slipping through the door.

He stared at the tray, ready to drool. The nurse blinked in surprise before looking down at his lunch. Her nose wrinkled. "You like this crap?" she asked, placing the tray on the stand nearby.

Kagome turned to face Inuyasha only to find him kneeling by the stand, nose sniffing merrily. "Like is such a weak word," he mumbled.

"It's _ramen_. _Ra_men. The crap that- - -"

Inuyasha's head whipped in her direction. "Never," he said in a low voice, "insult ramen. It's the best thing to happen to this world since. . . Well, since me."

Kagome gave him a dry look. "Ramen was made before you were born."

"So?" he retorted, gaze going back to the ramen. '_Ramen. . ._'

Kagome made a disgusted sound. "Well, you know what? I still have to ask you a question before you get to eat- - -"

"Hurry up and ask it then, wench, cause if you don't act fast, that ramen's going to be gone and you'll be standing there looking like an idiot," Inuyasha cut in, impatient that she was making him wait longer to eat.

"Fine, fine," she replied. "Hmmm. . . Let's see now. . ." She made a show of tapping her chin and making a thoughtful face.

Inuyasha growled. '_She's making this difficult!_' he mentally snapped.

'_Oh, shut up,_' he youkai retorted. '_She looks kinda cute like that._'

Inuyasha blinked in surprise before thoroughly looking her over. He swallowed before thinking, '_No- No she doesn't. . _'

'_You can eat your 'holy ramen' any day, but you can't see this every. . . Actually, if you play your cards right, you could._'

'_Hey,_' Inuyasha thought in a _what-a-good-idea-why-didn't-I-think-of-that?_ type tone.

'_Thought you said she didn't look cute._'

Inuyasha turned slight pink. '_How 'bout you shut up?_'

'_Sorry, it's in the job description to be annoying._'

"- - -Inu_yasha_," Kagome cut into his thoughts.

"Wha?" he muttered, coming back to reality.

"Did you hear what I asked- - - Wait, why are you blushing?"

"I am not!" Inuyasha argued.

"Are too!"

"Are- - -" Inuyasha let off with a growl before changing the topic. "What was your question?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed, knowing what he was doing, but answered, "I asked if you'd ever kissed anybody." She gave him a glare that promised she was going to go back to that earlier topic whether or not he liked it.

"Yes," he answered in a semi-triumphant tone.

Apparently, she hadn't expected that answer because her glare immediately disappeared and she gaped, mouth opening and closing. "Who?" she finally sputtered. "Who'd be stupid enough to do- - -?"

"You," he interrupted curtly. "Don't you remember?"

Inuyasha was pleased to note that she was the one blushing at this point. "I see you do," he said in an amused tone.

"Shut up!" she whined. "You were the one who kissed me!"

It was then that Inuyasha's facial color darkened to a red that threatened hers.

"I see you remember, too," she said in a teasing tone, face still flushed.

"I must've been drunk," he muttered, "to be stupid enough to do that."

Kagome's mouth opened in shock. "_P-Pardon_?" she sputtered. "_You_ kissed _me_. _And_ there is no alcohol allowed here at _all_. So, what you were drunk on, I've no idea."

'_I do_,' a certain annoying voice piped in.

'_Shut up,_' Inuyasha warned.

'_It was you, Kagome,_' his youkai continued in a high, mocking tone - quite resembling a hyper six-year-old girl gone hyper - ignoring Inuyasha completely.

Inuyasha's cheeks flamed. '_Don't you understand your own language?_' he grumbled.

"_Now_ why are you blushing?" Kagome demanded, amused once more.

"I'm not!" he protested weakly.

Kagome examined him for a second before giggling. "Whatever you say," she finally murmured.

"Keh, can I eat now?"

"Of course!" Kagome answered.

Inuyasha needed no prompting. It only took three seconds for him to grab the cup of noodles, rip off the lid, and take a bite.

"_Oi_!" he cried. "They're _cold_!"

Kagome gave an innocent smile. "How'd _that_ happen?"

"You took too damn long to ask a question is what happened!" Inuyasha barked in reply, taking another bite. He winced before giving her a pissed glare. "You ruined the good name of ramen," he informed her.

Kagome shook her head, grinning. "You're something else, Inuyasha."

"Keh, yeah, well you better get me something else for lunch. Preferably another cup of _hot_ ramen," Inuyasha retorted.

"How about I make you a deal?"

Inuyasha plopped the ramen on the stand before giving her a look. "What?"

"I'll get you another ramen for lunch _and_ one for dinner, _if_ - and only if - you answer two questions at dinner."

"Sure," Inuyasha agreed. "So long as I get some edible food."

"The _food _is fine, it's your _tastes_ that aren't right," she told him seriously.

"Right," he remarked sarcastically.

"Anyway," Kagome paused to flop onto his bed, "wanna do something fun and waste some time?"

"Sure." Inuyasha sat down by her, leaning back on his hands. "What do you want to do?"

Kagome grinned a grin that threatened the Cheshire cat's. "I brought a game with me."

The hanyou shot her a look. "Where? I don't see you carrying anything."

"It's in my mind, baka."

"Then you didn't _bring_ it with you," he corrected.

"Oh, whatever. Do you want to play or not?"

"Sure, what the hell. What game is it, dare I ask?"

"It's something we have to go outside to do," she answered. "Ready to go?"

The look he gave her was past suspicious. "Just what do you plan on doing out there?"

"You'll see," she replied as innocently as possible.

". . . Fine, I'll go, but if it's something I don't like, I'm coming right back inside."

Kagome shrugged. "Sure." With that, she hopped up, made her way over to the door, slid her card through the reader, and allowed Inuyasha to open it for her. "Thanks," she said cheekily as she walked through. Inuyasha grumbled after her.

She led him down the hall where she had to, once again, unlock a door and where Inuyasha had to, once again, open it for her. She passed through with another cheeky "Thanks." Inuyasha grumbled a few choice curses.

They had only taken a few steps when Inuyasha growled in frustration.

"What is it?" Kagome stopped and turned to look at him.

Golden eyes narrowed before a hand enveloped hers, fingers lacing with hers. "Better," he muttered.

Kagome merely looked down in confusion at their hands before looking up into his eyes. There was a three second pause and Inuyasha suddenly remembered his place - and wondered what in hell possessed him to do something so stupid. Something hard and cold fell into his stomach when he realized that she could just pull her hand away - and never look at him in the same light.

But, instead, she merely looked at him for a few seconds, blue eyes foggy with confusion, before shrugging and continuing, swinging their hands slightly.

00000000

"Now what did you have in mind for this game?" Inuyasha asked when they opened the front door and stepped outside.

"Just hold your horses," Kagome commanded. "Give me a few second to get around back." She took him out to the back of the building where the Outdoor activity field was. She led him to a gate that was padlocked, entered the code - a little clumsily since she wouldn't let go if Inuyasha's hand - and went inside, closing the gate behind them.

"Alright, wench, I've waited patiently. Now what are we going to do?"

In reply, Kagome took a deep breath, slowly pulled her hand out of Inuyasha's grip and turned so that her body faced his. He quirked an eyebrow at her. She then lifted her right hand and put it on his left shoulder. "Inuyasha," she said slowly, "you're It."

And then she took off like a bat out of hell.

Inuyasha stared for several second before grinning like a madman. "I should've guessed it was going to be something stupid like this," he told himself before taking off after her.

00000000

He wasn't exactly sure why he was doing this. It was stupid; it was childish; it was. . . for lack of a better word, it was entertaining.

He shook his head to clear away his stupid thoughts as he slinked through the patch of sparse trees. '_Where the hell did she go?_' he wondered.

'_Just use your nose,_' his youkai dryly commented.

'Oh!' he mentally exclaimed, and then proceeded to sniff the air. He veered to the left and took off. '_I forgot about that option. . ._'

_Merely shows how much of an idiot you are_.'

Inuyasha growled in annoyance before suddenly coming to a stop, perplexed. '_Wait. . . Her scent comes to a stop right here._' Confused, he looked around, thoroughly inspecting the area. '_Yeah. . . She's not here. . ._' He pinched his nose. '_But there's no way in hell she could just vanish. . ._'

'_Think of where you are,_' his youkai instructed.

Inuyasha, after swearing off the voice, did so. '_I'm behind that stupid center. . . I'm in a huge area. . . I'm around a lot of trees. . . In fact, I'm under one,_' he noted, looking up. There was a three second pause before Inuyasha realized something. '_Wait_!' He squinted, looking up at the tree. '_Aha!_'

He leaped up into the nearest branch, planted his feet in the bark of the limb, and then pushed off again, jumping almost halfway up the tree, and landing almost next to Kagome.

"Wow," Kagome breathed, turning to face the hanyou, face a mix of wonder, awe, and something that couldn't be called anything but affection. "Inuyasha that was. . ." she stopped, making hand gestures, attempting to show him what she meant. Finally, after seeing the blank look he was giving her, finished with a pathetic, "well. . . amazing."

Inuyasha snorted. "I didn't do anything worthy of your praise," he muttered a little darkly.

"But. . . But that was. . ."

"Merely my hanyou abilities," he snapped, expression darkening. Kagome could see him mentally retreating into a safe place. She was incredibly confused as to why.

"What's. . . wrong?" she asked, scooting closer.

Inuyasha gave her a glare before pointedly moving away. '_She can't get near._'

'_Why?_' his youkai asked easily.

"Inu. . . yasha?" she hesitantly asked, lifting her hand and slowly reaching out to touch him.

He flinched like she hit him and reversed even more to the middle of the long branch.

'_She can't get near me,_' he echoed.

"What are you doing?" Kagome murmured, looking a little hurt. "I didn't do anything." '_What's he doing?_'

Golden eyes narrowed dangerously at her. "Sure, _you_ didn't, but that doesn't mean that others didn't."

Kagome frowned at him, thoroughly perplexed. "I don't know what you're talking about, and if I don't know what you're talking about, how can I help?"

"By leaving me alone," he hissed.

_She can't get near me,_' he repeated again.

She winced at his tone. "Inuyasha, please. . . what's wrong?" Slowly but surely, she was inching over to him. Inuyasha shifted uneasily.

'_She_ can't _get near,_' he thought again, a little more desperate this time.

'_Why?_' his youkai asked again, this time more demanding.

'_Because. . ._'

"Inuyasha?" Kagome breathed softly. She was mere inches away. "Please. . . _please_ tell me what's wrong."

'_Because. . ._'

He gave her a look that nearly tore Kagome's heart right out of her. He looked like he was torn between decisions and no matter what he decided it was going to hurt. _What the. . .?_' Kagome thought before closing the last few inches between them and laying her hand on his arm. He jumped but didn't move away this time.

"What wrong?" she murmured to him.

"N- Nothing," he breathed, looking away from her.

Kagome frowned, lines forming on her forehead. 'if it was 'nothing,' as you say, you wouldn't be acting like this, now would you?" She crossed her arms, not unkindly, but merely to show him she wouldn't take crap for an answer.

He sighed. "It's just. . . nothing."

"I told you, it's not nothing, because you wouldn't be like this over nothing." She gave him a look, hoping to mentally tell him that she'd listen, no matter what. And she'd understand, not pushing him away.

'_Simply because. . ._'

Inuyasha visibly swallowed. "People aren't too fond of my abilities," he started. "They think that it proves how much of a freak I am, being half human _and _having the abilities of a youkai. You already know how much people dislike hanyou's, but. . ." he sighed. "First my very first year of school, I attended an actual academy. But. . . my teacher decided that she was going to. . . tell me how much she liked my youkai abilities. Usually, at recess, she encouraged me to do something with my abilities. I, being a stupid little brat, did so. Usually, when she saw me do something, she immediately praised me, telling me how amazing I was and such. . . But after a while, word got around that the school was teaching a hanyou and the principal asked my teacher to talk to my parents. He wanted my teacher to. . . persuade my parents into pulling me from the school. She refused. . . So, the principal decided he didn't want a weakling, who couldn't got rid of a simple hanyou." He let off and drifted his gaze towards Kagome's hands, which were clasped in her lap.

"So. . ." he continued, "he got rid of her."

'_She can't get near. . . because. . ._'

Kagome cocked her head. "You mean, fired her?"

He shook his head and sighed. "It looked like an accident. . . But it wasn't. He- He _hired_ someone professional to get rid of her and make it look like she merely slipped with a knife while slicing her dinner."

Kagome swallowed a gasp. "He killed her. . ." she breathed.

"Had her killed," Inuyasha corrected, voice blank, void of all emotions. "It wasn't until later that I found out who did it. . ." His voice drifted off.

Kagome took a deep breath before asking the question she really didn't want to. "Who was it?"

Inuyasha looked at her and in that second, when his eyes met hers, a warm, tingling sensation flooded her senses. In that moment, a feeling Kagome had never before experienced was born in the depths of her emotions. In that second, Kagome suddenly wanted to cling to Inuyasha in a hug and never release him. In that second, Kagome realized what he was going to say.

And, indeed, he said it.

His golden eyes bore into her cerulean eyes. "MenouMaru."

Kagome inhaled slowly. "I had a feeling," she murmured, resting her chin on her knees. The light breeze played with her hair. Inuyasha stared at her idly.

'_It's. . . because. . ._'

He stopped himself from reaching out to her. Stopped himself from embracing her in a hug. He stopped himself from showing much emotion as he ripped his eyes off of her and stared blankly out at the surrounding lush, green grass. He shifted his position on the branch so his one leg was up against his chest while the other dangled.

'_It's simply because. . ._'

Kagome looked over at him and bit her lip. She couldn't help but wonder how she would feel if someone was murdered because of her.

'_Like crap,_' she immediately answered herself. '_That's how he must feel. . ._'

Kagome sighed before placing a hand on his forearm. "Inuyasha," she murmured to him. "Look at me."

He didn't respond.

"Inuyasha," she said in the same gentle tone but a little louder this time.

His eyes didn't even flicker in her direction.

Kagome grew desperate. '_I need to show him I care. . . I need to tell him he's not alone. . . I need to. . ._' she let off and her heart started hammering wildly. Her cheeks flushed. '_Wuh- Why do I care so much?_' she wondered, a little afraid of the feelings in her stomach. '_Like butterflies. . _'

And suddenly, she knew how to make him understand; how to make him see she cared; how to bring him out from in himself.

With shaking hands, she reached up and placed a hand on either side of his cheeks. Then, she gently pulled his face so she was looking into her eyes.

"Inuyasha," she whispered.

And then she gently placed her lips on his. Gently kissed him. Gently stroked his bottom lip with her tongue. Gently told him what he didn't want to hear verbally - or more like, didn't want to hear.

This time he heard her. This time he reacted. This time he understood. And responded.

'_Because. . ._'

Kagome's stomach was full of butterflies when she closed her eyes. Her lips were tingling from the contact. She suddenly felt like she had never kissed anyone before - though the one four-second kiss with Hojo didn't really count - and she found herself wanting more. When Inuyasha asked entrance, she granted it and opened her mouth, giving him it to him, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

Inuyasha delved his tongue into her moist cave, memorizing ever nook and cranny it seemed. The feel of Kagome was simply. . . intoxicating. He was giving and taking. Living in the moment - a moment that he never wanted to end. All too soon, he found he needed to breathe and slowly pulled back, allowing them both to gulp down the oxygen they needed to appease their starving lungs.

Inuyasha stared at her, golden eyes hazy with affectionate feelings. Kagome swallowed at the intensity behind his golden orbs.

He closed his eyes, relishing the warm sensation his lips were experiencing. There was only one thing going through his mind. And nothing else seemed to make sense at the moment except that one thought:

'_It's simply because I love her._'

00000000

**(E/N: -cries dramatically!!- OMG that was sooo…sad or maybe happy hmm… -looks perplexed- Well maybe it was both but it was great!! I was like awe then omg and the awe again!! This chapter is my favorite!! Anyway, school has started or is starting soon so that means homework for everyone :( that is never fun… Anyway I'm getting off topic, Review please I thought this was AWESOME!! Okay well night, night all I'm going to bed.) **

**Okay, so how was it? I think I really screwed this chapter up, but… hey, at least a certain someone **_**finally **_**came to terms with his feelings! …OmG! There are only 10 or so chapters left and then this Fic is OVER!**

**-Not sure how to react so just collapses again-**

**R&R!**

**Ja ne!**


	34. Too Attached

Disclaimer: -Yawns in boredom- Inuyasha should be here any minute (because of the letter I sent saying I had ramen - and tons of it - even though I don't really have any) and then we'll see who own Inuyasha

Disclaimer: -Yawns in boredom- Inuyasha should be here any minute (because of the letter I sent saying I had ramen - and tons of it - even though I don't really have any) and then we'll see who owns Inuyasha!

:Inuyasha: Not you.

-Jumps- When you'd get here!?

:Inuyasha: Been here a while… Is it true you have no ramen? -Claws gleam- -Evil grin-

Eh… heh… Eh heh… SIT! Crap, not working… KAGOME!

A/N: Woo, I'm onna role!! Started the second chapter (chapter 34) the day I wrote the first (33)! W00t!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Four: Too Attached

'_It's simply because I love her._'

00000000

Kagome yawned as they walked through the halls, coming back in from their little play date. "I'm tired," she muttered.

Inuyasha huffed. "You've nothing to be tired about!"

"Oh, yes, I do!" she argued, giving him a small glare from the corner of her eye.

"What's the reason, then?" the hanyou demanded.

"I stayed all last night with you, baka!"

Inuyasha opened his mouth, ready to retort, when it fell shut. "Oh, yeah. . ." he muttered, remembering.

Kagome yawned again. "I'm going home and- - -"

"Go to bed?" Inuyasha asked, finishing her sentence. "Take a nice, hot shower?"

"Both of those sound lovely," Kagome murmured appreciatively.

"There's a bathroom attached to my room. . . and it's got a shower. . ." Inuyasha said in a 'thoughtful' tone.

"No," she replied tartly, sliding her I.D. in a reader.

The door clicked and Inuyasha said, "Aw, why not?" as he opened the door for her.

Kagome snorted. "Because," was her simple reply.

"You don't know what you're _missing_," the hanyou continued.

"Pervert," Kagome grumbled, cheeks now harboring a fine pink dust.

"No, I ain't!"

Kagome shot him a look, stopping in front of his door. "Of _course _not! I must have been thinking of someone else!" she exclaimed playfully, unlocking the door.

Inuyasha nearly snorted when he opened the door. "Well, I have a bed for us to use, at least."

Kagome gave him a dry look. "Who wasn't a pervert again?"

His face flamed in color. "No! I didn't mean it- - -What I meant was- - -Arg! Annoying wench! _Now_ who's the pervert, hmm? That wasn't my meaning and you know it!"

She giggled and ducked under him, nearly diving for the bed when he pursued her. "It was still funny to see you blush like that!"

The hanyou jumped into bed beside her, pinning her to the bed. "Well, now you gotta pay," he stated simply.

Kagome giggled. "How so?" she challenged.

"I guess you'll find out." And then he started to tickle her ferociously. Kagome started to laugh manically.

"No- - -Stop!" she wheezed between giggles. "Not- - -fair!" More giggles. "You- - -stupid- - -" She never finished the sentence because she suddenly started laughing and tried to jerk away from him.

"Say sorry for calling me a pervert."

"Nev- - -Never!"

"Alright then," he said, tickling her with more intensity.

"Alright! Alright!" She paused to giggle. "I'm sorry!"

"For. . .?" Inuyasha asked casually, not stopping his tickle attack.

"F- For calling you a- - -ah- - -!" she stopped to giggle again, "- - -a- a pervert."

"Good," he murmured and then sat up, releasing her.

Kagome was giving a few last giggles. "Meany," she gasped at last, gulping down air.

"I know," he answered triumphantly.

Kagome sighed, her eyes drifting closed. "Now I'm _really _tired," she muttered, rolling over.

"You don't say?"

She yawned. "Yeah. . . I think I'll. . . just. . . sleep. . . for. . . a few. . ." She drifted off and her breathing evened.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, grinning, before pulling her closer to him so she was against his chest. "I'm a little tired, too," he softly told her sleeping form. Then, he joined her in the world of sleep.

00000000

"Inu_yasha_!" a shriek sounded, waking him up.

Said hanyou blinked his sleep-bleary eyes and looked around. "Whuh?"

Kagome, looking frantic, was in front of his small mirror, desperately trying to smooth

out her hair and tug down her slightly wrinkled shirt.

"Waz wrong?" he asked, stifling a yawn.

"You didn't wake me up!" she accused giving him a look over her shoulder. "I wasn't even supposed to fall asleep!" Kagome, even though she was incredibly pleased and happy at first to wake up beside Inuyasha, was now going to get her butt fried by the staff and possibly even Kaede.

"Mm, too bad."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whined. "Please take this seriously! It's been almost three hours and not once have I gone to pick up Ellen! I could get fired for this! What am I going to tell them when they see me? Oh, yeah, sorry I'm late but I fell asleep in Inuyasha's bed with him.' Oh, yeah, they'll be _thrilled_ to hear that! They'll even be like, Oh, dear, it's fine! I do that all the time!' _No!_ They'll fire me on the spot! Oh, why did I have to fall asleep?"

Inuyasha stretched and got up. "This is simple. Just tell them you weren't feeling good and was in the bathroom, puking up your lunch."

Kagome rubbed her temples. "They're not going to go for that," she muttered. "Most likely one of the staff used to bathroom in the past few hours and they sure would remember if I was in there being sick everywhere."

He sighed. That was true. "Then don't say anything."

"I'll think of something," she said, trying to slide her card through the reader with shaky hands. It wasn't working. She kept on missing and even managed to drop the stupid piece of plastic.

Inuyasha, who was suddenly at her side, bent over and picked it up for her, slid it through the reader and opened the door. "You'll be fine," he assured her, handing her the ID.

She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her rattled nerves.

Then ducked under Inuyasha's arm and started down the hall with a distracted wave.

00000000

'_Crap,_' Inuyasha thought sullenly. At least an hour and a half had gone by with no sign of Kagome. '_Maybe the actually fired her. . ._' A small wave of fear washed over him.

'_It'd be your fault,_' a certain annoying voice piped in.

'_Aw, shut-up, why don't ya?_'

'_Why didn't you wake her up, anyway?_'

' '_Cause she looked so comfortable and she had been so tired._'

'_You sure it had nothing to do with the fact that you liked her lying next to you?_'

Inuyasha's face flushed at his youkai's comment. '_Shut-up,_' he mentally grumbled.

'_Thought you didn't love anyone - oh, wait, no. Thought you _couldn't_ love anyone,_' his youkai teased.

'_Well. . . I can be wrong!_' Inuyasha weakly defended.

'_Took ya long enough to realize it, though._'

Inuyasha blinked. '_What?_'

'_Oh, nothing. . . Now, I wonder how long it'll take you to realize that she's- - -She's here._'

'_What were going to say?_' he demanded suspiciously, making his way over to the door.

'_You'll figure it out._' Then, the voice was silent.

'_Damn thing,_' Inuyasha mentally swore, waiting for the click of the door and then pulling it open for his nurse.

He was relieved that she didn't look upset. "You okay?" he murmured to her, moving out of the way so she could come in.

It was then that the smell made its way to his nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine. In fact. . . Inuyasha?" Kagome blinked at him when he suddenly got a dazed look in his eye and stared at her hand. "What's- - -oh, yeah. Here ya go, dinner's served." She held out a container or ramen.

Inuyasha wasted no time. He nearly ripped it from her hand and inhaled it in less than a minute.

"Sad, how you eat. . ." Kagome sighed, taking a seat on his bed.

"Shut-up," Inuyasha told her through ramen, flopping down beside her.

"Anyway, as I was saying- - -" A ring-tone interrupted her. She blinked before fishing her cell phone out of her pocket. "Thought I turned this thing off," she muttered as she hit a button. "Hello, Kagome Higurashi speaking."

"Hey, Kaggy."

Kagome blinked before glaring at the wall near Inuyasha's head. "Hey, Miro, why you calling me?" Her voice was deadly calm.

"I have something to tell you," was his reply.

"I'm listening."

"I'll be back the day after tomorrow. So, you only have tomorrow yet to tend after Inuyasha," Miroku told her.

"O- Oh. . ." For some reason, that was not what she wanted to hear.

"I'll be back in by lunch, so. . . That sound good to you?"

"Oh, um. . . Yeah. . . Yeah! It sounds. . . That sound great," she stammered.

"Oh, good, and tell Inuyasha that 'Miro,' as you called me, says hi."

"Sure," she answered. "Oh, wait! You're number comes up as restricted, so any possible way you could- - -?"

She was cut off with a chuckle. "You love me so much you want my number?" Miroku asked in a suggestive tone. "I usually only give it out to one girl, but. . ."

"Miroku, cut the crap," she growled.

"Aw, fine," he nearly whined before drilling off a number. Kagome made him say it several times so she could memorize it since she didn't have a pen or paper.

"Alright, now that you have that- - -"

"Wait," Kagome cut in.

"Now what? Want to know where I live?"

"No," Kagome replied tartly. "But, I would like to know who it is that 'called you away,' as you said last time you called."

There was a three second pause before Miroku sighed. "I can't tell you but I'm sure you'll find out soon."

"What?" Kagome blanked. "How?"

"You'll find out, now won't you?"

"Miroku," Kagome began threateningly.

"Is that Miroku?" Inuyasha suddenly demanded, tone sharp.

Kagome gave him a look. "What other Miroku do you know?"

He growled before pulling the phone out of her grasp. "Miroku, I know that I've known you for a long time, but- - -_Oi_!"

Kagome blinked at his sudden change in tone. "What?"

"He hung up on me!"

"Ha! See how it feels?" she remarked. "Now give me my phone. I have to enter his number in my phonebook before I forget it."

Inuyasha complied, grumbling.

The nurse played around with the buttons a few minutes before smiling triumphantly. "There, done."

"Oh, good."

"How was your ramen?" she asked suddenly, tucking the phone away.

"Huh? Oh, good."

"Oh, great. Now, I get two questions."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest before shutting it. "Darn wench," he grumbled.

"Okay, now first question: are you mad at me for not taking you out for an afternoon of fun'?"

"_Hell_, no!"

Kagome frowned. "No need to get so depressed about it," she remarked sarcastically.

"Whatever. Second question."

"Yeah, okay. . . Um. . . Are you going to miss me?"

Inuyasha blanked, giving her a look. "What?"

Kagome smiled at him innocently. "Well, Miroku told me that not tomorrow, but that day after that, in two days, he'll be back, so. . . I guess tomorrow is our last full day together."

He tried to hide the droop in his ears. He failed. "Oh. . ."

Kagome took a deep breath. "So. . . are you going to miss me?"

Inuyasha tried to scoff. He found he couldn't. He then tried to tell her not to be stupid. The words wouldn't come. "Yeah, I guess I will," he finally uttered.

Kagome looked depressed for a second before suddenly breaking into a small grin. "What are we going? Miroku's not back yet. And even when he is, we'll still see each other. . . Just not as often."

'_And with no kisses,_' she added as an afterthought.

Inuyasha looked away. "I guess so," he mumbled.

Kagome sighed and, gathering her courage, gently laid her head on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I know I'm gonna miss you. . . A whole lot, too." '_And I'm not sure exactly why, either. . ._'

Inuyasha tensed at first at the contact before relaxing against her. "You better," he replied. "What other person are you going to take out for 'afternoons of fun' and to a baby store."

Kagome giggled at the memory. "I still can't believe you managed to desecrate the store."

"I didn't desecrate it!" Inuyasha protested.

"Then what did you do?" Kagome smiled, closing her eyes. Warm butterflies formed in her stomach. '_Still don't know why that is. . . Shouldn't be getting this exited over nothing._'

"I remodeled it," Inuyasha replied.

Kagome snorted.

"Why were you even in there, anyway? You pregnant? Expecting?"

Kagome giggled. "No. I was just having fun."

"You do know that the people working there must have thought we were an item or something with a baby or expecting one or something?"

Kagome's cheeks flamed slightly at the prospect. "Probably," she mumbled in response.

'_That thought doesn't really bug me. . ._' Thoughts freezing, she mentally shook her head. '_Whoa, wait a second here. . . Inuyasha's not even my boyfriend. . . Well, he is, but technically. . . Well, he _is_, but. . ._' her thoughts drifted off and she mentally shook her head to clear it again. That train of thought was too confusing for her.

"Anyway," Inuyasha continued, "who goes into a baby store for _fun_? That's kinda weird."

"Oh, shut-up. You don't know what weird is, dog-boy," she replied, not unkindly.

"Keh!" he scoffed. "Just shut-up yourself."

Kagome rolled her eyes before she remembered something. She groaned. '_But I don't wanna move. . . It's too comfy here. . ._' It was, I fact, _very_ comfortable with her head against Inuyasha's shoulder. But, still. . .

She sighed. "Inuyasha," she murmured.

"Huh?" he responded.

"I gotta go," was her simple statement.

"Why?" he nearly whined.

" 'Cause. . ." She gave a sigh. "I have to take Ellen to her room so she can go to bed."

"Can't someone else?" he complained.

"No, I'm lucky Kaede was incredibly forgiving. If I do the same thing again, she might not be like that, however. . ." She let off and sighed. "I'd like to stay here, believe me. I'm still tired and this is too comfy. . . I might just fall asleep again. . ."

"Then fall asleep," Inuyasha replied easily.

"Mm. . ." Kagome mumbled before her eyes snapped open. "No! I can't. Sorry, Inuyasha, but. . . I have to get going." She yawned before standing up. "I'll be back again, I swear. Then I'll say good night to you and go home where I can sleep. . ." She yawned once more for a good measure before unlocking the door. Inuyasha sighed before standing up.

"Fine then," he grumbled, opening the door for her.

"Aw, cheer up, Inuyasha. I'll be back. You're acting like a pouting child," Kagome chided before slipping out with a wave.

Inuyasha shook his head and allowed the door to close.

'_I am acting idiotically. . . Dammit! I'm getting way too attached to Kagome for my own good. . . Not sure how I'm going to manage without seeing her every three seconds a day. . . Not that I see her _every_ three seconds now, but. . ._' His thoughts stopped and he shook his head. _Yeah, I'm getting _way_ too attached._'

Inuyasha sighed again before flopping onto his bed, staring at the ceiling blankly.

He already missed her sorely and she'd only been gone not even thirty seconds.

00000000

**I'm not sure if the dashes I put in time lapse work anymore… so I changed it to the 00000000s. Get it? Sorry. It bugs me, too.******** Darn the new FF (dot) net system, eating my dashes. -pouts- **

**Oh, oh, oh! Can I make 200 reviews with this chapter? That's only three news comments... since I have 197. Anyone up to the challenge? ;)**

**Happy Easter!**

**Ja ne!**


	35. Trip Down Memory Lane

Disclaimer: :Inuyasha: -hanging from the ceiling completely tied up-…You can put me down now.  
Not until you tell me who owns you! –pink nail polish poised for more torture-  
:Inuyasha: I already told you! Some chick in Japan!  
NO! It's not true! –sobs and draw on his legs with the polish-

A/N: -chanting- Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, THANK-YOU! reviews. –really big smiley face-

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Five: Trip Down Memory Lane

00000000

He already missed her sorely and she'd only been gone not even thirty seconds.

00000000

Kagome hummed happily as she made her way to Inuyasha's cell at nine-thirty the next morning with a tray of breakfast. She had no idea why, but she was even more cheerful than usual – much to Inuyasha's dismay as he opened the door and she nearly fluttered in.

"Okay, wench, what did you overdose on this morning?" the hanyou immediately demanded as he flopped on his bed, arms crossed.

Kagome giggled. "Overdose? Inuyasha, it's called happiness."

The hanyou gave her a wary look, unconvinced. "The first sign of a drug addict is denial."

The nurse rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, her good mood dissipating slightly. "Is it once again illegal in your book for someone to be really happy?"

Inuyasha nodded firmly. "Yes."

Kagome shook her head as she handed him the tray of food. "I'm not even going to _try_ to argue anymore."

The hanyou gave her a triumphant grin as he accepted the food. "I win again," he replied.

Kagome could remember him saying that after he had 'beaten' her at their little mimicking game. That had occurred, however, a long time- - - Kagome blinked as she realized that that had happened just over a week ago. She blinked again in slight surprise. '_Wow. . . time sure flies by. . ._' Today was Inuyasha's first day punish-free as well. She had nearly forgotten that little fact. The nurse almost slapped herself upside the head. For being a supposed genius, she sure was having weird memory lapses!

Deciding to stray from the current topic at mind, Kagome instead focused her attention on the hanyou who was currently wrinkling his nose at his breakfast. She heaved a sigh. "For pride's sake, Inuyasha, today's breakfast is _normal_ for once – it's pancakes!"

The half-demon was not convinced. "It's _covered_ in sugar."

Kagome nodded. "Syrup, yes."

Golden eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the pile of carbohydrates and sugar, picking at it with a fork as he checked it out very thoroughly. After several seconds, he dropped the fork, plopped the plate in the near-by nightstand, crossed his arms and announced, "Inedible."

Kagome rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "What_ever_," she mumbled in response before she remembered something else. "Oh, yeah! I get my question now."

The half-demon mumbled darkly, his hopes of her forgetting and leaving him in peace for once squashed.

Kagome scowled. "It's not that bad!"

"Says the interrogator," he replied darkly.

Kagome's look darkened. "It won't be that bad, I swear- - -" she abruptly cut herself off as her brow crinkled. "Um. . ." she finally stuttered.

"What now?" Inuyasha demanded a little impatiently.

"Actually. . . I can't think of anything," she admitted after a pause.

". . . Nothing?" Inuyasha echoed incredulously.

"Yeah," Kagome admitted again.

Inuyasha grinned wickedly, an elated look in his eye. "Oh, thank- - -"

"_But_," Kagome continued, interrupting him, "that just means I get two questions at lunch."

It was her turn to grin wickedly as Inuyasha's happy look quickly developed into a 'WtF?' look.

"It only makes sense," she continued.

Inuyasha muttered darkly about stupid wenches and their stupid games and their extremely stupid craving for knowing everything.

"I do not want to know everything!" the nurse protested. "Just everything about you!"

This earned her a glower and another observation from Inuyasha about how wenches were annoying and needed to learn when to shut-up and not say anything else but instead admit that they lost.

"Lost?" she echoed dubiously. "I _still_ don't see what you won at- - -"

It was then that Inuyasha found the best way to shut her up. It was his absolute favorite, he had to admit, and he hoped to practice it more often for while it didn't only shut her up, it also gave him great pleasure.

He planted his lips firmly on hers.

00000000

"Oh! Inuyasha! It's great to see that you'll be joining us again!"

A dark mutter.

"Hmm? Inuyasha, did you say something? Are you even feeling alright? You look a little- - -"

"I'm _fine_," he interrupted the red-head, not pleased at all with his current situation – having to deal with his 'classes' again, art being the first on the list.

"Oh, then. . . Well, that's wonderful!" she commented, smiling brightly. "Please take a seat?"

More dark murmurs as he reluctantly complies.

"Righty-o!" The cheery nurse clapped her hands together as she started. "Now, today, you're going to draw your family- - -Or, rather, people you consider family."

Blank looks was the reply she got from the teens and kids.

"Er- - -So, you can begin."

More stares.

"Feel free to grab a piece of paper and some colored pencils or crayons or something and. . ." She drifted off when she realized no one was bothering listening to her. Some turned and grabbed a sheet of paper, doing as she instructed and started drawing masses of scribbles and some just continued to stare at nothing.

Inuyasha's eyes shifted to the right to the particular person who was the only other person sitting at the table three seats down – Jakotsu.

He shook his head before leaning back in his chair and relaxing, closing his eyes. By the gods was he tired. He wouldn't mind having a small little- - -

"Oh, Inuyasha. . . I don't see a picture."

He mentally cursed all the deities that forced him through this torture. "You don't say," he replied dryly, wishing the nurse would just pass him by knowing that he had no intention of drawing anything.

"Yes. I quite enjoyed your- - -er- - -works. They. . . _enlightened_ my day."

He gave her a dry look before grabbing a sheet of paper and placing it in front of himself on the table. "There; happy?"

She gave him a look that told him she was expecting more. He met her gaze and just stared at her. Many seconds ticked by.

'_I don't think she's going to take your hint,_' his youkai commented.

'_I don't care if she takes a _hint_ or not. I'll tell her out-and-out that I don't intend to- - -_' His thoughts were cut off when the nurse's gaze flickered slightly to the left and she gasped.

"No; _please_ don't try and gouge out each other's eyes with the pencils!" She scurried off to address the new problem and Inuyasha once again leaned back in his chair, yawned, and closed his eyes so he could doze.

00000000

". . .You still haven't drawn anything."

The hanyou gave her an irritated look, trying to carry his thoughts over to her. '_Just shut up and leave; just shut up and leave; just shut up and leave; just shut up and leave, we both know I'm _not_ going to draw like some pansy._'

She stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and moving on, shaking her head.

Inuyasha blinked before wrinkling his nose. There was a minute and seventeen seconds before the nurses started to show up.

Make that fifty seconds.

'_Ah, someone a little more antsy than usual to see a certain nurse?_'

Inuyasha mentally snorted at the suggestion before he realized that he _was_. His youkai laughed at him mockingly.

'_Just shut-up,_' he mentally grumbled.

'_Naw, you're too much fun to- - -_'

"Oh, Inuyasha," Kagome called from behind him, causing him to jump and whirl to face her. "Ready to go to. . ." She thought about it before finishing, "Mr. Dai's?"

The hanyou made a looks that suggested he was more prepared to die.

"Aw, come one, Inuyasha. You're over-reacting. It's not _that_ bad."

Another look.

Kagome didn't even bother to continue trying to convince him but instead grabbed onto his arm and tugged him after her as she left. "Oi," he weakly protested. He tugged lightly at his arm, half-heartedly. Had he really wanted to escape the nurse's grip on him, he could have easily done so. Instead, he gave a long suffering sigh and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling to make it look like he _really_ didn't appreciate her leading him around like he was on a leash before falling into step with her.

Really, it was sick how hard it was getting to fight her on anything. . .

00000000

To say Inuyasha was incredibly creeped out when he flopped down in his overstuffed chair and looked up with a scowl, ready to snap some unintelligent comment, only to see a brightly beaming Mr. Dai would be an understatement. His angry expression relaxed to be replaced by an unemotional mask as his brows rose in question. "And you're looking oh-so-happy because. . .?" He made sure the psychiatrist heard his pause so it would be filled.

"You," the older man began in reply, leaning forward so his elbows were on his knees, "are a _very_ lucky young man."

Inuyasha blinked. Well _that_ just explained everything, didn't it? "What the hell do you mean by that?" Inuyasha snapped in response.

"Can you guess what I've concluded?"

There was a pause as golden eyes thoroughly scrutinized him up and down. "That you _really_ need to buy a sense of taste in fashion?"

Mr. Dai stopped short before looking down at his light blue – _sky_ blue – suit and blinked before leaning even farther forward so he could examine his spotless white, shiny dress shoes, complete with black socks. After several seconds of lightly fingering his dark hair, he looked back to Inuyasha and shook his head. "What do you mean? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" the psychiatrist finally asked, genuinely perplexed.

Inuyasha's eyes rolled up to the ceiling before he decided that there was no way the dense man was going to take anything he would say to heart and that he was better getting back to whatever it was that the psychiatrist had been trying to say earlier. "Never mind. What is it that you've 'concluded'?"

"Oh," Mr. Dai murmured, remembering something. His face brightened again. "Oh, yes. Well, remember how I told you that I'd help you get out of here by your birthday?"

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he squelched the small part of him that dared to hope. "What of it?" he asked suspiciously.

Mr. Dais's grin was one of a madman. "Well, Inuyasha, guess what? I've gone through everything countless times and you are _not_ mentally unstable." Inuyasha ears twitched again as he slowly started to realize where this was going. "And so I called up your parents, had some nice, long conversations, and it's concluded that you _shall_ be released from this center."

At this moment in time, Inuyasha felt as though his lungs had been constricted as he had not dared to breathe for a small while. "Is that so?" he murmured, a little light-headed.

He was answered with a nod. "Yes. You will be released from here. Most likely your parents will come and pick you up. Tomorrow."

And then it was like Inuyasha's world became a mess of unfinished thought profanities and buckets of undesired emotions. Millions of thoughts crash-landed into his mind.

'_Tomorrow?_' It seemed like perhaps the most stupid thing in the world to think, but it was all Inuyasha's muddled mind could summon.

The hanyou blinked slowly three times.

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

Mr. Dai laced his fingers together and leaned forward so his elbows were resting on his knees before placing his chin between two of his knuckles. "I suppose I should warn you that your parents will be here to pick you up," he murmured.

Inuyasha's ears twitched slightly as his eyes closed, his face impassive as ever. "Hn," he hummed in response. "They can go to hell for all I care."

Mr. Dai sighed before opening his mouth to continue. He wasn't even able to utter a syllable before there was a knock at the door that silenced whatever he would have said. He frowned before calling, "Come in."

The door opened and a nurse, Ayumi to be exact, peeked in. "Sorry to bug you, sir, but I was told that Inuyasha needed to go back to his room now."

Wrinkles formed between the psychiatrist's dark eyes. "I haven't finished our session yet," he protested.

Ayumi gave an apologetic shrug. "It's _orders_."

And at the way she had said orders,' Mr. Dai gave and after a pause gave a shooing gesture. "Off with you then."

Ayumi turned to Inuyasha and ordered him to come with her. He complied and did so. Once again, he wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.

00000000

Kagome tapped her chin with her pen as she stared down at her daily paperwork. She chewed on her lip before filling in the lines with her neat script. After several lines had been filled, she picked up her work and read through it.

'_Perfect!_'

She smiled before letting it fall back to the table. Kagome rolled her head on her neck to loosen her tensed muscles. Her head rolled back and it was then that she swore she saw someone look into the room with her peripheral vision. She jumped and snapped her head in the direction, eyes searching.

She saw nothing there.

Kagome blinked once, momentarily wondering if she was going insane. She immediately shook her head. That had to be it.

Because she could have sworn the woman who had peered in looked just like her.

00000000

It was when his cell door was unlocked that he knew something was wrong. Inuyasha hesitantly took a step inside before the door closed behind him. His ears flicked at the noise before he focused on the problem at hand.

"You don't seem all-too-pleased to see me. . ."

"And I wonder why?" Inuyasha retorted sarcastically.

Kikyou nibbled her lip for a second. "Alright, I deserved that one, but- - -"

"Kikyou, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you," she replied simply.

"Oh, good. You've seen me. Now please leave."

The girl blinked slowly. "Inuyasha. . . are you really still _that_ upset with me?"

He gave her a dry look. "What do you think? Use your brain for once, how bout it?"

Her shoulders slumped. "Isn't it okay to make mistakes? You said yourself that no one was perfect."

Amber eyes rolled up towards the ceiling. "Be as that may, I've never run across anyone stupid enough to make such a huge mistake as you did. . ."

Kikyou fervently shook her head. "It was never a mistake- - -!"

A fire ignited behind Inuyasha's golden eyes. "Oh? Of _course_ it wasn't."

Kikyou blinked in confusion before scowling in frustration. "No! It's not like that- - -"

"Then _please_ enlighten me as to what's 'it's like.' "

She shook her head slowly, her long hair swaying with her movement. Inuyasha nearly snarled at her. "You wouldn't understand," she began softly. "I could explain it to you, but you still wouldn't understand. . ."

His nose curled. "Understand what?"

Dark drown eyes drifted shut as she sighed. "Understand how- - -"

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he whirled before appearing at the door, yanking it open. "And here ya thought I had forgotten about you, huh?"

Kagome blinked before letting the hand she had poised to open the door fall. "Well. . . no, but- - -"

Inuyasha rolled his bright eyes. "Stupid wench. . ."

His nurse smiled before replying, "Ah, I see your mood is as great as ever."

Another roll of his eyes, this time accompanied by a long-suffering sigh. "Sometimes I wish you'd try being less cheerful. . ." he mumbled.

"Cheerful is my thing!" she protested indignantly.

She received a dry look. "How many times have I- - -?"

He was interrupted by a temporarily forgotten person.

"I see she means a lot to you. . . More than I do. . .?"

The words were softly uttered, yet both the miko and hanyou picked it up. Kagome turned a lovely shade of pink while Inuyasha scowled. "What if it?" he demanded.

Kagome did a double take before glancing up at the hanyou.

'_Did he just. . . admit to liking me?_' her mind idly wondered.

'_In any case, he didn't deny it, now did he?_'

No, he hadn't. . .

A slow, bittersweet smile spread across Kikyou's face. "I see. . ." She slowly exhaled before regaining her composure and walking right up to Inuyasha. She pulled his face down and whispered in his ear, "I did come here for a reason. . . If you want that girl to be in the same spot Shippou was in, then keep hanging out with her. . . If you prefer her to be safe, I suggest you leave her alone." While her tone was nearly colorless, there was a tone behind it that Inuyasha didn't like.

"Are you threatening me?" he hissed back in reply, eyes narrowing.

Kikyou shook her head slightly. "No, I'm not threatening you at all. . . MenouMaru is. I'm supposed to tell you this: Happiness is three syllables long, but there is another word with syllables of three who makes you smile. Enjoy it while it lasts.' "

And without another word, Kikyou brushed her lips against Inuyasha; cheek and pulled back, exiting the room with the key she had been given. Before she shut the door, though, she hesitated and turned back to the two dumb-struck teens. "I. . . No matter what it looks like, I. . . _do_ want you to be happy."

The door slammed shut and Kagome found she could breathe again.

Very, very slowly, her eyes traveled to Inuyasha. ". . . Who was that?" she asked slowly.

Inuyasha didn't answer at fist but instead went over to his bed and flopped upon it. "Kikyou," he replied finally.

Kagome froze. "Wait. . . you mean _the_ Kikyou - the one who was your child-hood friend?"

Inuyasha's head snapped in her direction. "Don't use that word so lightly," he hissed in reply.

Kagome's mouth snapped shut and she decided it was time to stop talking so they could both think and recompose themselves.

Inuyasha looked mighty upset. . .

00000000

Kagome nibbled her lip as her eyes drifted over to the hanyou. A grand total of eight minutes had passed since Kikyou had left and Inuyasha had flopped on his bed in a pout-y manner. The miko wasn't all-too-sure how to react to this. . .

"Inuyasha, what's bugging you?"

When all else failed, fall back on bluntness. At least progress was made this way.

Bright amber eyes drifted to her direction. "Kagome. . ."

"I'm listening," she murmured, slowly walking over and sitting next to him on the bed.

"Kikyou. . ."

For some reason, a small, burning sensation filled her chest every time that other _woman's_ name was said, and Kagome found it odd. Never before had she felt anything like it. . .

"What about her?"

"Kikyou. . ." Inuyasha repeated, letting off again and sighing.

Kagome decided to give him some time. Most likely, after a few seconds, he would be able to tell her.

And she was correct, for several minutes of silence passed before the hanyou took a deep breath. "Kikyou isn't the only reason I'm here, as you know."

Kagome nodded, knowing he wasn't looking but feeling she had to assure him anyway.

"Mostly, it's because of MenouMaru, though Kikyou _did_ play a part. . ."

Kagome froze before her gaze slid over to him as her mind used the logic it was given. "Inuyasha. . .?" she began tentatively, her question being unsaid, but the hanyou understanding it anyway.

He nodded in reply. "Yeah." A slow smile spread across his lips as he returned her gaze. "Looks like I finally trust you enough to tell you what happened."

Kagome could have sworn her heart stopped.

00000000

Kikyou rubbed at her eyes to try and erase her tears. She sniffled and pulled out her light blue cell phone and punched in a number. It rang twice before she hung up and dialed again, once more letting it ring twice before hanging up and dialing one last time. This time she didn't hang up and after the third ring, she heard a noise as the call was forwarded. There was a pause before she once again heard it ring.

"Kikyou?"

She swallowed back the lump in her throat and gave a small smile. "I did it."

"_Perfect_."

00000000

(E/N: -Evil Glares!!- HOW COULD YOU LEAVE IT AT A CLIFFY!? I MEAN NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CALL YOU EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY JUST SO YOU'LL HURRY AND GET EVERYTHING WRITTEN UP!! YOU ARE SOO EVIL -throws a cookie- RAWR AND GRR YOU, SAYO, GRRR YOU!!)

**-dodges angry reviewer attacks- Gomen nasai!! I know it was a classical "cliffy" but… EH! I felt like it.**

**-clears throat- Who here thinks I received an angry call from a certain beta after I wrote this (and left her hanging as to what'll happen next)? -slowly raises hand- **

**And yes, there was a long wait. Life was throwing a hell of a lot of crap at me and it was hard to cope—extremely hard. Suicide breaks peoples' heart, yo…**

**Now, PLEASE review and tell me what ya think, yeah?**

**Ja ne!**


	36. Trust Me

Disclaimer: -shifty eyes- Oh, look! I received a lease of Inuyasha. It's good for—What? You don't believe me? …-looks at lease- No, it's not an electric bill this time…

A/N: PEOPLE! Please, allow me to enlighten you: Yes, "the past" is finally coming out. Which means there are going to be long dialogues in this chapter. Please forgive the boringness of it, but it's mostly verbal, kay? Other than that—enjoy! (I'll_ try_ to keep this chapter interesting!)  
E/N: Oh my god I hate dialogues!! You, Sayo, are evil but awesome for writing this. -glomps Sayo-

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Six: Trust Me

00000000

"_Perfect_."

00000000

So. . . this was it. This was it? _This was it._ After what seemed like forever- - -

'_Barely a week,_' a small voice chipped in from the back of her mind.

- - -he was going to tell her! It was an amazing feeling to know that he finally trusted her enough to do something like this. . .

But. . . not that she was being impatient or anything, but when was he going to start talking? Seriously, now. Kagome had been patiently waiting on the edge of his bed for several long minutes and he had merely sat next to her, frozen, face giving no hints of any emotions, as he stared off at the wall. The nurse was starting to fidget under the suspense.

'_Think Kikyou did something?_' she idly wondered to herself.

She answered herself with a snort.

Of _course_ she had something to do with this – Inuyasha had told Kagome so himself. But _what_ was something that was a little – actually, a whole hell of a lot - harder to ponder on. She looked as though she venerated Inuyasha. Kagome wasn't sure if she'd be surprised to see Kikyou worship the sheets Inuyasha slept on. So just what could she do to make Inuyasha cut any and all ties he had with her? The dog-boy had also told her that she was one of his most special and cherished friends. . .

Oh. . .

Wait. . .

Had she stalked him and then sold some sort of 'inappropriate' pictures of him or plastered them all over the Internet? Had she done both? There was a two second pause before Kagome discarded the idea. It seemed a little out of character for Inuyasha to lock something out of his life for something as trivial as that. . . And Kikyou didn't _seem_ like that kind of person. She seemed incredibly sweet and an over-all pleasant person. _But_, she had always been told to never judge a book by its cover.

"Kikyou was the most important person in my life."

Kagome blinked in surprise before turning her attention to the hanyou, making sure to keep quiet. He was, indeed, placing a lot of trust in her to tell her this and she really didn't want to screw it up.

"Was, I suppose, is the key word there." His eyes drifted shut for a moment and Kagome waited in silence before he continued, "I already told you I know MenouMaru; I already told you about our rocky relationship; I already told you about what I did to him and how he reacted. So I suppose all that's left to tell you is what happened.

"I never knew it, but MenouMaru was the you screw with me, I break you and leave you to crumble' type of guy. So after I pissed him off, he started doing small things at first. Spread rumors, I mean. But there are always rumors, so they just blended in. But then they got worse and I actually got stalked by the rabid paparazzi that were desperate to know if it was true. It didn't bug me at all; I just brushed them off. But about a month later, things started getting worse. Shippou – the runt – I received a note that just plain confused me, saying that someone I knew was hurt. Once I reached the address that was on the letter, I found what they meant. Shippou – Shippou was. . . well, bluntly, he was _dead_, but, I mean. . . he was _tortured_. His skin had been sliced almost completely off and his eyes were open and from what I saw of them. . . I wouldn't put it past the bastard if he psychologically tortured the poor kit. I buried him out in the small patch of forest where he had lived – it was the least I could do, you know? After that, I thought maybe he was done. Hell, he had _killed_ someone again and the bastard hadn't left _any _evidence for me to report it. He had gone insane.

"I tried to calm him down, but every time I went tried to apologize, he just sank deeper into his pit. I knew that he would do something, but. . . I'll say this: he sunk fuckin' low. After he found out Kikyou was the most precious person to me, he set it up a deal with Kikyou. He told her he would stop bugging me and he would let the whole thing go by as long as she did one thing – forget about me and mate with him. Of course, Kikyou being the dense girl she can sometimes be, thought he meant it as a one-night thing. So she easily agreed." The hanyou let out a humorless chuckle. "Afterwards, she came to me, all happy that she had helped me out, but- but she just smelled so much like him, I couldn't take it. It wasn't hard at all to realize what she had done. I. . . kinda went nuts on her. I just started screaming at her and calling her all sorts of things I really shouldn't have. When we both cooled off, I went to her and explained what it all meant – that she permanently belonged to him. He told her to stay away from me or he'd hurt me again, so after a while, our friendship just sorta. . . broke. We haven't seen each other since. After that, MenouMaru kept his promise not to hurt me, but. . . I didn't have anyone else who was really close to me and I really did care about Kikyou, so I grew depressed and took it out on others, which is drastically different from how I usually act. Being the bastard that he is, he made sure to comment to my parents about it.

"My father grew even more indifferent to me than he usually was when I started to rebel from him. My mother wasn't sure how to react so she just stayed out of it, but my brother harassed me about it, wanting to pretend to be the loving brother he wasn't and try to 'help' me. I think their reactions to the whole thing drove me even further away. They went to Kikyou to see if she knew what was wrong, but all she knew was that MenouMaru and I had been in a fight – she didn't know the details like what happened to Shippou. So all she could tell them was what she had done with MenouMaru. My family assumed things and my mother thought that me losing the 'love of my life' made me go into a depression and that I was losing my mind to my sadness. So she shipped me here with some kicking and screaming on my part. I've been here ever since and no one here is doing a damn thing to help me. I'm not insane. I'm not depressed – not anymore. I just want out. But for me to do that, I need to 'make progress' and to do that, I would need to tell them what happened. And there's no way in hell I'm doing that. So I've been stuck here." Inuyasha let out a sigh and let his eyes close, looking as tired as he would if he had just fought a battle against the world.

Kagome sat in silence for a long while, letting it all sink in. "So. . . that- that's it? That's what happened?"

The hanyou shook his head in confirmation.

The nurse blinked before letting her head fall back and a short round of laughter came. Finally stopping her giggles, she turned to Inuyasha, who looked as though he wasn't sure to look insulted, amused, relieved, or laugh with her. "That's it?" Kagome asked finally. Once again, Inuyasha wasn't sure how to react. "I mean, that's why you're not allowed to leave? Because they _assumed_ things and they won't let you go because of it?"

He nodded again. "Yeah," he replied, finally understanding why she found it so laughter-worthy.

"You know what, Inuyasha? I'm going to help you get out of here. I promise."

The half-demon winced. "Uh. . . Kagome. About that. . ."

The nurse shook her head. "No. I swear I'll help you. No matter what. I can go to Kaede and- - -"

"Kagome," Inuyasha interrupted sharply enough for her to listen. "I- I'm leaving."

There was a pause before, "Wait. What do you mean, leaving'?"

The other let out a sigh, his eyes closing briefly. "Tomorrow. . . my parents are coming home to pick me up – I'm leaving."

There was another pause. Kagome looked as though she wasn't sure whether to protest or congratulate him. It looked like she was resisting the urge to cry.

"That's. . . _wonderful_, Inuyasha!" she finally burst, giving a beautiful ear-to-ear beam. "Wow! That's – well. . . _wonderful_!" she repeated, at a loss of words. She opened her mouth to say more and shook her head when nothing came to mind. "Wow!" she finally exclaimed again. "I can't believe it. Looks like someone's _finally_ getting out of the looney bin." Her eyes twinkled with a teasing light.

Inuyasha snorted, a little surprised at her reaction. "You're crazy, wench."

"Well," the nurse began playfully, "I _am_ in a funky farm."

The silver-haired boy looked at her weirdly. "Kagome. . . despite sounding like a hypocrite. . . Isn't saying that, as you would say, 'mean'?"

She playfully whapped his chest. "Oh, shut-up," she retaliated fondly.

"I will do no such thing. Aren't you usually complaining about how I don't talk _enough_?"

He received a dry look from her. "And when I want you to shut-up, you suddenly find it in you to be a chatter-box. . . Is this just my luck or do you _like_ torturing me?"

"Hmm," Inuyasha hummed, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Oh- - -" Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "You're evil."

"Don't I know it?" Inuyasha agreed.

Kagome rolled her eyes, smile still in place before she remembered the time. "We have to get you to lunch," she mentioned.

He looked at her with no amusement. "I think I'll eat in here."

The nurse's smile fell off and she gave him a small glare. "You're leaving tomorrow. Don't you want to eat with your friends on your last day?"

Inuyasha didn't waste any time in answering. "I'd actually rather eat in here with you for company."

'_I will not blush like a school girl; I will not blush like a school girl; I will not- - -dammit._'

The hanyou blinked at the red girl before smirking. "Wow. If I knew that was all it took to get a reaction, I would've said something like that sooner."

"Oh, shut-up," Kagome grumbled before pausing. "You know, Inuyasha, I really, truly and seriously want you to eat with Kouga and Naraku."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "And I was actually serious when I said I wanted to eat with you."

A pink tinge touched the nurse's cheeks again. "Then. . . how about you eat with them for lunch and I promise I'll keep you company for dinner. Besides, if you go to the cafeteria, I don't get to ask you a question," she teased.

Inuyasha sent her a dry look. "Me telling you my past cancels out any more questions you would've asked while I was here – that was some serious shit I told you."

Kagome snorted. "I think not, Inuyasha." Golden eyes narrowed and Kagome decided to change the topic. "So, you going to the cafeteria or not?"

The hanyou tensed. He knew he was going to regret his answer.

00000000

"Dude!"

"Hey, man!"

"Uwah!"

Inuyasha blinked over at Kouga – dialogue one, Naraku – dialogue two, and Jakotsu – dialogue three.

The trio – being Naraku, Kouga, and Inuyasha – looked over at the gaily grinning man.

"Can we help you?" the silver hanyou finally asked upon realizing his friends were going to do nothing to communicate with the boy.

Jakotsu grinned slowly as he stood and leaned into Inuyasha, his fingers slipping into his long hair. "I know how _you_ can help me," he answered silkily.

Naraku promptly choked on whatever he was drinking and Kouga burst into laughter, doubling over in a vain attempt to hide it. Inuyasha's brow twitched in annoyance at both of them before he turned his attention to the sex-confused man.

"I'm a guy," he bluntly told Jakotsu. The younger man looked up at him and Inuyasha couldn't help but notice he was starting to wear makeup.

"I know," the other purred in response. And before Inuyasha had time to think about it, he was pulled forward and the distance between him and Jakotsu was closed.

He immediately tensed against the other man's mouth and his eyes darkened. '_This is nothing at all like with Kagome. . . In fact, this is gross._' With that thought, he shoved against the other man and glared, idly wiping his lips off with the side of his index finger.

Jakotsu had the audacity to look surprised at being rejected. "Why. . . what's wrong?"

Inuyasha pointedly ignored the amused cackling of his youkai as he answered, "I have no interest."

Jakotsu pouted and was about to make a scene when Kaede – Inuyasha never knew he it was possible to feel so grateful for her appearance – stepped in. "What's going on here? Inuyasha, why do you look – er – disturbed? That's not an expression I'm exactly _used_ to seeing on you."

"Aw, shut up, you hag," he replied before rolling his eyes and plopping into his seat across from Naraku and Kouga.

The old woman looked like she wanted to snap that he shouldn't disrespect his elders, but instead gave a weary sigh and turned her attention back to Jakotsu. "Come on, I'll take you to your table."

When she was gone, Kouga broke out into laughter again and Naraku was sporting an amused grin.

"And what's so funny?" Inuyasha demanded.

"What's _not _funny about that?" Kouga managed between wheezes. "Oh – oh God – that- that was _priceless_! I never knew you had an admirer, Inuyasha-_chan­_."

The hanyou growled, telling the wolf demon that the joke was _not_ amusing. "Just leave it," he groused.

Naraku, who had kept silent, finally spoke. "Why aren't you disturbed by that? Or at least angry? Wasn't that your first kiss? Don't you _hate_ Jakotsu?"

Inuyasha tensed. "I don't see why it concerns you," he snapped. "What's there to be disturbed about? He's not mentally stable. He had no idea what he was doing. So why would I be angry about it? He didn't really mean it. And I don't hate Jakotsu, not really. And there's nothing big about losing a first kiss," he grumbled. Mentally, he added, '_At least when it's with Kagome._'

It was then that both parties made different realizations.

Naraku and Kouga where looking suspiciously at Inuyasha like he was going to up and attack them since he actually answered the questions seriously.

Inuyasha was mentally cursing since he realized that his opinion on everyone at the institution had changed drastically. Since when was he so accepting of the mental patients?

He took a sharp inhale of breath as the answer sank in: since he met Kagome.

'_Dammit,_' he swore. '_I really have changed since I met her._'

There was a silence before another thought made its way into his mind. '_Was that a good thing?_'

00000000

"Er. . . you're brooding."

"I do _not_ 'brood,' wench."

Kagome's slender brows rose to hide in her hairline. "Oh? Really? Cause it looks like that's what you're doing now."

"If you want to know, I'm just thinking up ways to castrate the thing that is called Kouga without him noticing until all is said and done."

The nurse gave him a dry look. "I do hope you are joking."

"Why would I joke about something like that? I've always had fantasies about torturing that bastard in his sleep."

Kagome didn't look impressed. "Psycho," she grumbled.

"But I'm _your_ psycho," Inuyasha insisted, playfully waggling his eyebrows.

Kagome burst into laughter at that, shaking her head at his adorable immaturity before a thought struck her and she paused mid-giggle. _Wait a second. . . Did he just call himself mine?_' She snuck a glance in his direction and noted that he didn't look any different – he didn't look like he meant anything by the comment. Had he meant that seriously? She resisted the urge to puff out her cheeks in exasperation. She could never tell with Inuyasha.

After a few seconds, she opted that he didn't mean anything by it and that her mind needed to stop assuming things and that not everything was an innuendo.

Though. . . she was a little surprised to note that she didn't necessarily _mind_ the thought of Inuyasha being hers. Abruptly, her eyes widened and she shook her head. That wasn't something she was to be thinking. Inuyasha was a _patient_ at a mental hospital that she worked in as a _nurse_. She was not to be thinking anything like _that_ about her charge.

She mentally cursed her body for not listening to her common sense as her cheeks starting tingling in a hot blush. Shaking fingers rose to brush over the heated skin in slight wonder.

Since when did Inuyasha have such an effect on her? Since when did the mere thought of him force butterflies into her lower abdomen? And since when did he always look so incredibly adorable all the time?

"Keh. Wench. Why the hell are you lookin' like a tomato?" A silver eyebrow rose in question.

Kagome gave him a half-hearted glare and let out a shaky breath. Trust the idiot to go and ruin her musings.

"Geez, it must be hotter in here than I thought," she lied, tugging on the collar of her shirt as she used her other hand to fan her heated face.

And darn it, since when did he look at her like that?

"Are you okay?" he asked slowly, drawing the syllables out like they were part of a foreign language.

Latching onto the change of topic, Kagome grinned at him and teased, "Oh, heavens. Did _the_ Inuyasha Takahasha just show that he cared about someone else?"

The hanyou huffed. "Forget it, then! See if I ever ask you anything like that again!"

The nursed laughed as her charge pouted. "Aw, did I hurt da wittle hanwou's feewings? Dids I? Dids I?"

Inuyasha gave her a scathing look. "Do _not_ talk like that, wench and I am _not_ a child."

Kagome wrinkled her nose as she shifted to settle into the bed more comfortably. She blew a stray lock of ebony hair out of her eyes before turning back to Inuyasha. "So. . ." she drawled.

He quirked a brow. "So?" he repeated in the same manner.

"So. . . um. . . this is your last full day here?" she finally murmured, unable to think of anything else to say to fill in the silence.

Inuyasha didn't answer, instead opting to gaze out the window. He felt a sense of déjà vu for some reason. Many times before he had spent hours staring out into the light, wishing he could be outside rather than in, before Kagome had come. But lately he had been too busy to do anything of the sort.

A small chuckle sounded from the girl and, surprised, he flicked his gaze over to her. It was humorless and so. . . un-Kagome-ish. It almost scared him, truthfully.

"I won't be seeing you after tomorrow anymore," she said, her tone betraying no emotions. It was blank and dry. He couldn't tell whatsoever what was going through her mind.

"I thought," he started slowly, "that you were happy for me?"

His golden eyes locked onto beautiful blue and for a second something flashed through him. It was just a second and afterwards he realized he probably imagined it, but during that short second, he felt that everything was okay. For that second, he subconsciously thought that he could feel everything the dark-haired girl was. For that second, they were almost connected. For a second, he thought he saw his more-than-friendly emotions towards Kagome reflected in her eyes directed at him. It was just a second, maybe even a millisecond, but it was enough to leave him nearly breathless.

"Of course I'm happy," she replied. He could tell the cheerfulness in her words was forced – it was so obvious to him it was almost painful. "Of course I'm happy," she repeated, all of her cheeriness sapped from her tone. "Of _course_ I'm happy," she said again, this time trying to convince herself as her voice became almost desperate. "I'm happy, but. . ." She drifted off and look away, licking her lips before continuing. "I'm also sad."

Inuyasha wasn't sure how to react to that. He wasn't sure how to tell her that he felt that exact same way. He wasn't sure how to tell her anything. But that was okay because a silence had formed and in that silence, something unexplainable happened that neither of them could really understand. In that silence, something ignited. In that silence, the air was charged and something connected in Inuyasha's mind. So, instead of saying anything and breaking the wonderful feeling, he leaned over and gently pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss was chaste and sweet. It was pure and innocent, one hundred percent emotion that neither of them could put into words.

It was everything and yet nothing they wanted.

Inuyasha was the first to pull back. His lips weren't able to move more than almost an inch before Kagome reclaimed them. This time, though, her kiss wasn't as gentle. Swallowing any bashfulness that wanted to make itself known, she parted her lips slightly to ghost her teeth across his bottom lip. Inuyasha made a sound before returning the favor, nibbling on the sensitive skin of her lips, running his tongue along the inner skin. In response, she parted her mouth even more, allowing him full access.

He took it, slipping his tongue in to caress hers. He shifted his position so that his palms were planted firmly on the wall on either side of her. Kagome tilted her head so that they molded even better against each other, also giving Inuyasha more access. He took it obediently. His canines scraped along her lip as he dominated her. His tongue played with hers for a long while, testing and teasing, rolling and sliding. Eventually, though, both of them pulled back, gasping in air for their hungry lungs.

"I'm sad as well," he whispered in her ear, nuzzling her hair, eyes still closed. '_I don't want to leave you, either,_' he added in his mind, but dared not say it aloud.

He heard her swallow and felt her nod. He breathed in her luscious scent before – reluctantly – pulling back to look at her. Crystalline pools gathered in her eyes and Inuyasha resisted the urge to flinch. "Don't. . ." she whispered harshly, voice full of emotion, but she drifted off, unsure as to what she didn't want him to do.

She blinked and felt the burning pressure in her eyes release slightly to be replaced with something hot and wet on her partially flushed skin. Immediately, Inuyasha leaned forward, his tongue slipping out to lick away the tear.

'_Don't cry. Please don't cry. . ._'

" 'Gome," he murmured against the skin of her cheek. "If I make a promise, will you be happier?"

She swallowed thickly, offering a watery smile. "I don't think I can be happy right now, Inuyasha," she answered truthfully in a soft voice.

"I'll make sure you're happy, okay? I'll make sure today isn't our last day together, alright? I promise, okay? Okay?" His golden eyes looked into her and she wanted to tell him that what he was saying was impossible, but she trusted him. Naïvely and fully, she trusted him.

Instead of vocally answering, she pressed her lips against the tip of his nose.

00000000

**(E/N: This chapter was sooo cute. Ok well at least the end was! ****Even though I hate dialogue it went really fast I thought it would be boring but wow it wasn't. ****Yay! ****Ok well that's my opinion so READERS, ****PLEASE TELL HER YOURS!****)**

**Well, I have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off for Memorial Day Holiday so when I woke up this morning, I looked at the clock and said "meh, fuck it," and rolled over to go back to sleep. So I have a FOUR day holiday. XD And then I got up and decided to post the next chapter, since I'm just oh-so kind. **

**-gags- Speaking of the chapter, it was extremely fluffy and corny. Sorry! But just think of this: next chapter Inuyasha goes HOME! O.o There's something to look forward to. XD **

**Ja ne!**


	37. Have Some Dunch

Disclaimer: Blerg. Let's hear it from the horse's mouth – Sesshoumaru, what have you to say?  
:Sesshoumaru: This Sesshoumaru is owned by no one.  
…What happened to Rumiko Takahashi?  
:Sesshoumaru: That wench has been dealt with accordingly.  
…Um…?

A/N: -frantic- DUDE!! Finals start TOMORROW! -hides behind bush- I didn't study!! ...I suppose I should now then, ne? :( I hate studying...

AGE:  
InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Have Some Dunch

00000000

Instead of vocally answering, she pressed her lips against the tip of his nose.

00000000

Kagome readjusted her bad as she pushed open the front door. She waved at a passing co-worker who smiled in return. It had been a hassle to convince Kaede to allow her to run home quickly. After assuring the old woman that she _would_ return and _would_ resume her duties as expected of her, her boss caved and granted permission. Kagome currently hummed as she walked down the hall with a bounce in her step, very happy that she was allowed the trip home.

She checked her watch before turning down the hall that led to the exit to the Outdoor Activity field. Kagome pushed open the heavy, metal door and paused in the doorway to thoroughly scan the fenced-in area. She _really_ didn't feel like lugging erself over to where they were, but like the loyal nurse she was, she ignored the little voice in the back of her head that was whining about how long of a walk it was and started trekking. The warm, summer air of late June beat down on her and she relished in the feeling.

Once she had gone _all the way_ to the other side of the expanse of land, she paused. The small group that were out for their session of Outdoor Activity were fumbling around as they tried to figure out just what they were doing with the rubber kickball animatedly. After a few seconds, it somehow got into the hands of who Kagome supposed was the pitcher. The boy blinked in surprise at the ball in his hands before giving an unsure look to the male nurse in charge. He gave the boy a reassuring nod and the boy rolled the ball over to a girl who was staring at it wide-eyed. When it came near her, she yelped and leaped – quite literally – out of the way. She flopped on her stomach, threw her hands over her head and screeched, "Are you trying to kill me, baka?! Don't throw things at me!"

All the kids, at the mention of killing, started chattering in a panicked tone. Some of them started running around in circles – literally. The older ones were asking each other why the game had turned violent. A few just looked bored and rolled their eyes at the display. And one stood in the middle of the mayhem, arms crossed, eye brow quirked, eyes flicking back and forth as kids ran by.

That person was, of course, Inuyasha.

Kagome wrinkled her nose at the comical display. The silver-y haired boy's head turned in her direction and Kagome offered him a warm smile. He smirked in response. Kagome gestured at the nurse in charge that she was picking up Inuyasha. He stuck up his thumb in an a-okay gesture and so the two started off.

"Keh," Inuyasha grumbled as they trekked back towards the building. "Why in the seven layers of hell do you have that bag, wench?" he asked as he glanced over at her.

Kagome stuck out her tongue. "It's a secret, so be patient!"

Inuyasha gave her a dry look. "What are we – three?"

Kagome harrumphed and crossed her arms indignantly. "I just won't tell you, then!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh, no. Whatever will I do?" he asked in monotone.

She gave him an icy glare as she slid her ID card through the reader as they approached the door. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Neh."

Kagome decided she needn't bother to reply to that. They continued through the halls in silence for a few seconds before she spoke up again. "Do you think your parents will, like. . . bring you a welcome home present or something?"

He gave her a reproachful look before sarcastically replying, "Yeah, _okay_. Sure, they're going to do that."

Kagome glowered at him. "Why wouldn't they?" she demanded.

" 'Cuz they hate me?"

"Inu_yasha_! They don't hate you!" she automatically barked.

"Keh." He crossed his arms huffily. "Sure they don't."

Kagome glared at him, her good mood souring fast. "They're your family – why _would_ they hate you? No matter what, your family will always care for you even if it doesn't seem like it."

"Just keep telling yourself that," he grumbled.

Kagome sighed, growing exasperated. "Inuyasha, I don't know what you have against your family, but I can almost guarantee that most of it's just in your head."

"Sure it is," he remarked sarcastically.

"Inuyasha, I am going to kick you in the shins if you don't knock it off," she declared, giving him a reproachful look.

"Kick me in the shins?" he repeated. "Isn't that slightly. . . immature?"

Kagome harrumphed. She pulled out her ID card as they approached his cell and slid the card through the reader. It beeped and Inuyasha pulled it open for them. "Ladies first," he drawled sarcastically.

"Oh, thank you, young sir!" Kagome replied in the same tone, giving a mock curtsy. She daintily entered the room and gingerly took her place on Inuyasha's bed, flicking off invisible flecks of dust off the area around her. She let the bag slip from her arm and tsked at him. "You really need to learn how to keep your room clean."

Inuyasha gave her a look as he plopped down beside her. "Whatever you say, wench. _Now_ will you tell me what's in the bag?"

Kagome pinched her nose. "You need to learn how to have more patience." But her scolding was in vain for she was pulling the contents out of the bag as she spoke.

Inuyasha's ears flicked in curiosity as he made a face at the two smallish boxes. "What _are_ those, wench?"

"Dinner," Kagome replied brightly.

"It's barely three in the afternoon," he pointed out.

His nurse blinked at him. "What of it?"

"It's too early for dinner," the hanyou said slowly, his tone suggesting he was talking to an incompetent toddler.

Kagome blinked again "Then it's lunch. . .?"

"It's too late for that, as well."

Her brilliant blue eyes narrowed. "What is it, then, oh, Great-Mighty-Smart One?" she demanded indignantly.

Inuyasha thought about that before shrugging. "Keh. Why would I know something like that?"

Kagome frowned at him, not at all satisfied with that answer as she also thought as to what it was called. After several seconds, she pulled out two pairs of chopsticks, handed a bento lunch/dinner to him, and pulled the lid off of hers. "We're having dunch."

". . . Dunch?" His chopsticks slipped in his grasp as he rearranged them so he was holding them properly.

"Yes." Kagome nodded. "Dunch – dinner and lunch all rolled into one." She then patiently waited until he had also opened his bento. When he had done so, she softly murmured, "Itadekimasu," before dipping her hand down for some rice.

"Yeah, yeah, itadekimasu," Inuyasha grumbled, before continuing. "Why is it dunch, wench? I'm sure that there's an actual _name_ for it?"

Kagome swallowed her bite before asking, "Like what?"

". . . Like 'late lunch'? Or 'early dinner,' perhaps?"

Kagome chewed slowly on another bite before swallowing just as painstakingly slow and replying, "I like dunch. But thanks for the memo."

Inuyasha huffed, stuffing his mouth full of something – he didn't pay attention to what it was, exactly – before talking through his bite. "Counnent yoow at weast call it som'in better 'in _dunch_?"

Kagome gave him a distasteful look. "And what would you have preferred I call it, then? Linner?"

"Luhwhat?"

"Precisely." Kagome nodded. "Dunch is more aesthetically pleasing. Linner sounds like a name of some sort of rocker-dude. . . Or some sort of wild cat."

Inuyasha paused in eating to give her a look.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"Shut up, wench, and just eat."

She stuck her tongue out at him but did resume eating as instructed. "So-o-o-o," she began after a few moments of silence, "how is it?"

"It's okay, I guess. . ."

Kagome's bubbly exterior and happy smile fell away almost immediately. "It's okay, you _guess_?" she repeated, her tone dark and menacing.

Inuyasha looked over at her in surprise. "What? What's wrong with you?"

"It's okay, _you guess_?" she growled again. Upon closer inspection, Inuyasha gulped when he saw what resembled flames crackling in her bright eyes.

"Kago- - -?"

"I raced home, prepared a _delicious_ meal, fought through early afternoon traffic only to have a _guess_ as to whether or not it tastes good?" Those were definitely little flames in her eyes.

"Uh. . .?" Inuyasha blinked, thoroughly confused and thoroughly afraid. He resisted the urge to whimper as she stood, her hands fisting at her sides.

"Is my cooking that disgusting?" Though it seemed like an innocent enough question, her tone was daring him to say yes.

He hastily shook his head. "No. No, it's _delicious_," he quickly assured her. "Who in their right minds would ever think of insulting food of such quality?" It was corny as all hell to say, but it did the trick. Kagome looked at him for a few seconds before she blinked, extinguishing the fire in her gaze, and plopped down beside him.

"Well, why didn't you just say so then, you silly thing?" She gave him a dazzling smile before picking up her lunch again and daintily taking a bite.

Inuyasha let out a shaky breath before looking down at his lap where his own lunch lay. He also picked up another bite but instead of jamming it into his mouth, he inspected it. Whatever it was, it was yellow. And mushy. Inuyasha had seen his mother eat something that resembled the yellow gush, but he had never tried any himself. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember what it was – the center's food was okay, but it wasn't the best and they had never served anything like _this_. He glanced up at Kagome in a moment of stupidity and met her unwavering blue gaze.

"Something wrong?" she asked him in a sweet, innocent voice. He knew that if he said even one word besides no, she would have his head. So he shook his head and turned his attention back to the morsel dangling off the end of his chopsticks. He didn't look to see if Kagome was still looking, so instead he slowly pushed the bite into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed.

It didn't taste too bad, actually, but. . .

"What the hell _is_ it?"

His ears flicked and he whipped his head up to see Kagome, in all her pissed glory, glowering down at him. Apparently he had sounded disgusted when he said that. "What did you say?" she asked, tone deadly calm.

Shit.

"Nothing!" he quickly amended. "It actually tastes really good!" He scooped several bites into his mouth. "Hee? I'n n'eatin' it!" he managed around his full mouth.

Kagome continued to look at him icily before she sighed. "Do you even know _what _you're eating?" she finally asked, calmed down.

"Um. . . Yeah?"

"Really now?"

"Hell, yeah, wench. I'm not stupid." He huffed.

"I never said you were stupid or not," Kagome pointed out. "I just asked whether or not you knew what you were actually eating."

He debated truthfully answering, slightly fearful of her reaction. It was a blessing that she decided to enlighten him without his reply.

"It's an egg omelet – my specialty." She grinned. "So is it yummy?"

He mentally snorted at the word 'yummy,' but answered anyway. "Surprisingly, yeah."

Kagome nodded, still grinning, before something sank in. "Surprisingly?"

Inuyasha winced and prepared himself for her anger. He was completely floored when she snorted softly. "You thought I was going to be a bad cook or something, Inuyasha?"

Mentally, he was gaping at her, wondering why she wasn't growling at him about insulting her culinary skills. Outwardly, he 'keh'ed. "Yeah, wench. It's actually good."

She stuck her tongue out at him before snorting again. "Eat your dunch, baka. I've got to get you to your next session."

It was about that time that Inuyasha realized that the slower he wanted his last day with Kagome, the faster the time was going to fly by. It was times like these that he really hated time.

00000000

Kagome glanced down at her short stack of papers.

"Kagome?" a meek voice inquired.

She flicked her gaze up and beamed. "Yeah? 'Sup, Ellen?"

The little girl stared at her for a few minutes before shaking her head. "Nothing. Neh- Never mind."

Kagome frowned but returned her attention to her weekly paper work on her patients – this one was Ellen's. She mechanically filled in the boxes and lines as was expected of her. When she had finished several minutes later, she nodded and flipped the small packet over so that she could write the date on it. "Are you _sure_ you didn't want to tell me something- - - Mayu?"

"Hunh?"

Kagome blinked before leaning forward slightly so she could read the name better. Indeed, right in front of the name _Ellen_ was _Mayu _in short, neat strokes. She stared at the name for several long moments before her eyes slowly rose to meet Ellen's – or Mayu's. Or whatever she was supposed to be called.

"Mayu?" she repeated slowly, testing out the name.

"What?" the little girl replied, looking around nervously, not sure what to make of the scene.

"Is that. . . your name?"

The girl nodded at her slowly, eyes slightly wide. "Yeah. It's the name my mommy gah- gave me."

"Your mommy- - -? But I thought you had a Western name?"

Ellen-Mayu shook her head. "No. Ellen is my middle name. But after I moved in with my aunt, she cuh- called me Ellen since she didn't like my original name."

"So. . . then, you're actually Mayu?" Kagome asked.

"I guess. B- But I'm also used to being called El- Ellen."

Kagome frowned. "Do you even like being called that?"

The little girl shrugged. "I'm used to it. I- I guess that's mostly what matters. I've been called Ellen for m- most of my life now."

Kagome gazed thoughtfully at the girl for a while before nodding to herself. "Right, then. I don't care what you say, from now on, you're Mayu. Sound good, Mayu?"

Mayu's brows crinkled. "Yeah, I d- d- don't mind."

The raven nurse barely managed to keep from smiling when she noticed the happy flush that tinted Mayu's cheeks. "So, anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Oh. . . It wasn't anything, really. . . I just wanted to know if you and I- Inuyasha were going to get m- married soon."

"Beh- - -Kuh- - -Eh- - -Wah?!" Kagome sputtered intelligently, her cheeks flaming hot.

Mayu blinked, not sure what she had said wrong. "I asked when you were getting married," she repeated.

Kagome let our a squeaky whimper of surprise. "Mayu, uh. . . What gave you that idea?"

"Well, you're dating, ri-i-i-i-i-ight?" she asked in a sing-song voice.

Kagome ducked her head, unable to deny it since they _were_ technically dating, after all.

"Kagome, do you love him?" Mayu inquired, tone laced with excitement.

Said nurse stared at the little girl like she had grown another, monstrously green arm. '_Do I _love_ him?_' she repeated. '_Uh. . ._' She couldn't come up with an answer, so instead she snuck a peak at her watch and resisted the urge to whoop when she saw that it was getting slightly late.

"I've got to get you to your next session, Mayu, so let's get going, ne? I've also got to go pick up that baka."

Mayu's face scrunched up as she thought about that. "Should you be calling your husband that?"

Kagome squeaked before giving a nervous chuckle and rattling "Oh-Mayu-look-at-the-time-I-need-to-hurry-or-everyone-will-wonder-where-you're-at-and-we-don't-want-that-now-do-we?" all in one breath before nearly picking the little girl up and zooming down the hall.

00000000

"Wench?"

"Hm?" she nearly squeaked.

"My face is up here." To demonstrate his point, he tapped his right cheek. Kagome bit her lip before looking up to meet his gaze hesitantly. "Much better," the hanyou said, nodding in approval.

Kagome snorted in a very un-lady like manner.

Inuyasha frowned at her, pouting slightly. "I'm kinda hungry."

Kagome rolled her eyes. When dinner had rolled around, Inuyasha had decided he was still full from their dunch together, so he took Inuyasha to his room, told the lunch ladies that Inuyasha wanted to eat in his cell, and tossed the meal in the trash as she left the room. It wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, but she wasn't supposed to bring in food for the patients, thus skipping the meal completely was off her list of choices.

"You'll be able to eat in the morning. Your parents are coming bright and early so they can take you home- - -" Involuntarily, she broke off with a wince. The topic was still a little sore. She cleared her throat and forced herself to finish her sentence. "So they can take you home and eat breakfast with the whole family." She tried to tell herself that her voice cracked because her throat was dry.

It was a little hard to believe her logic when she clearly felt a stinging in her eyes.

'_I'm being stupid_!' she scolded herself. '_He has to go. He's free to go tomorrow. I should be happy. I should be happy. I should be happy. I should be happy. I should be- - -_'

"Keh, wench, what else is in this bag?" Inuyasha poked around the bag that Kagome had brought their dunches in. "Is that. . ." He crinkled his nose. "_Clothes_? Why do you need clothes?"

Kagome whapped his arm with the back of her hand. "Baka," she mumbled to him, her voice coming out slightly rougher than she would have liked.

He snorted but crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. When several seconds of silence passed, he raised a brow. "Well? You gonna tell me what's up with the clothes or what?"

Kagome – despite her desire to break down into tears and latch onto Inuyasha, demanding he not leave – managed to give him a reproachful look. "They're here because I'm going to need them tomorrow," she informed him thickly.

"Need them tomorrow?" Inuyasha repeated before giving her a look that demanded she elaborate.

Sticking out her tongue, Kagome did so. "I – well, you see. . ." She drifted off and sighed, breaking eye contact as a pink flush warmed her cheeks. "I decided I to sleep here – with you – on your last night."

Inuyasha made a guttural sound that was a cross of complete shock and surprise.

Kagome whipped the nearest object – her shoe – at him. "Not that like _that_!" she screeched at him, burning a bright red. "Pervert! Miroku _does_ have a huge influence on you and don't even try to deny it!"

Inuyasha also turned a pretty pink. "Well excu-u-u-use me for assuming the wrong thing when you said you wanted to sleep _with_ me- - -"

"I know what I said!" Kagome cried, throwing her hands over her ears like she was blocking out some sort of verbal poison. "And I didn't mean it like that, so let's move on, okay? I never made that comment and we never had this conversation."

Inuyasha shrugged, his blush fading. "Sounds fair enough to me."

Kagome grumbled to herself about stupid dog-boys who needed to get their minds out of the gutter and Inuyasha merely smirked at her behavior.

His nurse stuck up her nose at him before searching through her bag, pulling out a small pile of clothes, and haughtily making her way into the small bathroom. She pointedly locked the door, making as much noise with the lock as possible.

She stepped out again a few minutes later in a pair of light blue pajamas. She tucked away her dirty clothes before pulling out two blankets.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked curiously as she continued to work.

"I'm laying out my bed," she replied simply.

Little alarms went off in his head. "Why are you sleeping on the floor?" he demanded. "It's cold and hard and uncomfortable."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Thank you for pointing that out to me. I never would've guessed if you hadn't told me," she dryly remarked.

"You're not sleeping on the floor."

Kagome looked up at him and quirked a brow. "Then where do you suggest I sleep?"

"My bed?" His tone suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And where are you going to sleep, hm?" She sat on her haunches and crossed her arms.

"Well, _I _sure ain't sleepin' on the floor, either, that's for sure."

"So you're suggesting we sleep in the same bed?" Kagome gave him a calculating look.

Inuyasha snorted. "We did it before. Only. . . we didn't actually sleep the first time. . . But we did the second time! And you had a hissy-fit about it, remember?"

"Blah. I'm fine on the floor." With that, she slipped under her blanket. "Now, we better go to sleep, Inuyasha. Your parents are expecting you to leave with them by eight tomorrow morning and it's already almost t- - -What are you doing!" she cried in protest as Inuyasha deftly picked her up – blankets and all – and dropped her unceremoniously on the bed before crawling in beside her. "Oi!" she protested. She attempted getting up, but almost immediately Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her midsection, keeping her where she was.

"Just go to sleep, wench. I thought that it was getting late?" He chuckled when she weakly struggled and tightened his hold, pushing her flush against his chest. He momentarily marveled at how every curve of her body seemed to fit his perfectly –

'_Like we were made to complete each other_,' he thought slightly drunkenly as he inhaled her sweet, sweet scent.

He could feel her warm up as she blushed to the tips of her roots. "I would much rather sleep on the floor, ya know," she weakly protested.

He chuckled again and Kagome resisted a shudder when she felt the vibrations from his vocal cords spread into her, tickling her back.

"Inuyasha. . ." she weakly mumbled. It wasn't a protest, but more of a plea.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied softly, resting his chin on the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. He let his head lay comfortable on Kagome's as his eyes fluttered shut in pleasure. "I'm not going to leave you."

Kagome felt the bite of tears behind her eyes lids again. "Say it again?" she asked so softly she barely heard it herself. But Inuyasha's superhuman hearing picked up on it.

"I'm not going to leave you."

00000000

Kagome wasn't sure when she fell asleep, exactly, but she did know when she woke up. The sun's rays were barely peeking through the window and she could feel the rise and fall of Inuyasha's chest behind her. For a moment, she didn't move, enjoying the moment. But then, against her better judgment, she looked at her watch and resisted the urge to sigh, groan, or do both.

"For once in your life, forget about the damn time," Inuyasha's voice demanded from behind her. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin and rolled over so she could face him. Due to their proximity, their noses were touching and their lips brushed when one of them spoke.

"I sorta hafta look at the time when your parents are probably already here."

Inuyasha let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers. "Do you have to remind me, wench? You've totally ruined the moment."

Kagome's dark brows rose. "We were having a moment?"

Inuyasha gave her a weak glare. "Were. It's over now."

She grinned before trying to slip out of his grasp. Trying' being the key word.

"Kagome, what are you doing?"

"I've got to get changed and so do you. Then we have to go out to meet your parents." She tried to keep her tone from going dead and melancholy.

From the sad look Inuyasha gave her, she knew she failed.

"Keh," he weakly huffed. He hesitated a moment before tightening his grip on her even more. Inuyasha breathed in her scent before he reluctantly let go. "We'll get changed, I guess."

"Oh, good." Kagome rolled off the bed, landed on her feet, and made her way over to her bag. After fishing around for a few seconds, she pulled out another pair of clean clothes. Kagome grinned at Inuyasha before heading into the bathroom.

Inuyasha sighed and also stood up and went over to his dresser. He pulled out a random outfit that he hadn't worn in a while. It was at that time that his youkai piped up.

'_Why won't she just change in front of us?_'

Inuyasha had _not_ been expecting that, and as such, he sputtered and choked on dry air. '_Why do you _think_, you idiotic _thing_?_'

'_Oo, a thing am I, now? No matter, just go in there and show her that her uncooperative behavior is not appreciated. She didn't lock the bathroom door._'

'_Uncooperative behavior?_' Inuyasha repeated before growling and shaking his head as he pulled off his pants. '_Shut-up! We're not _mates_ and I would appreciate if you would shut-up for once._'

'_It's only a matter of time,_' his youkai cackled.

Inuyasha growled as he yanked off his shirt. '_What's that supposed to mean_?' he demanded.

He got no reply.

Inuyasha growled as he pulled on his clean clothes. The bastard-voice had the worst timing on when and when not to shut-up. Of course when he _wanted_ the damn thing to talk, it would not do so. . .

The opening of the bathroom door broke his thoughts and for a second, the thought '_If she had come out a second earlier, I would've been shirtless_' crossed his mind. He immediately hunted the thought down and forced it to go through a slow and painful death.

"Ready to go?" Kagome asked, forcing a smile.

"No," Inuyasha glumly replied.

Kagome's enthusiasm deflated. "Yeah, neither am I. . . But we, uh, _might_ see each other again!" she told him optimistically. "There's a chance that, um. . . And that. . . er. . ."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but he had little prickles of cold disappointment all over. "Keh. Kagome, for once, just shut-up." With that, he pulled her in and let their lips connect.

The kiss was chaste, and not intense, but it was also hungry and desperate. Neither made a move to deepen in. Instead, they just allowed their lips to relish in the feel of the other. Inuyasha nibbled gently on Kagome's bottom lip before pulling away.

"Do we still have to go?" Inuyasha mumbled to her.

Kagome swallowed but nodded. "Yeah, we do."

"God. . . can I take you with me?"

Kagome laughed softly and a small smile bloomed on her face. "I wish I _could_ go with you," she replied truthfully.

Inuyasha made a face. "I do, too."

Kagome grabbed his hand and they walked down the hallways, fingers laced.

00000000

Kaede, Kagome, and Inuyasha were standing outside – apparently the Takahashi's limo had been caught in traffic – when two cars pulled into the large parking lot. The first was a sleek, black limo and the second was a nice, purple sports car. The purple car parked not far from Kagome's red Lamborghini and the limo pulled up along the entrance to the center where the trio was standing.

Kagome swore that everyone was holding their breath then.

The purr of both cars died and they were all standing in a deafening silence. To top it off, no one stepped out of either of the two cars. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha who shrugged at her. Kagome returned her gaze to the parking lot for any hint of movement and nearly gave a relieved whoop of joy when the door on the driver's side opened. Kagome waited as a leg appeared and then the whole body of –

"Eh?" Kagome blinked in surprise, not sure how to react.

"Miroku!" Inuyasha growled as said man jogged over to them, grinning joyously.

"Hey, y'all! 'Sup?" He stopped in front of them, giving a nod of acknowledgment to Kaede.

Kaede smiled in response. "It's good to see you again, Miroku. How have you been?"

Miroku chuckled. "I found me a piece of coral to call my own," he replied. The three gave him a look. He merely chuckled again, not offering any clarification.

Any questions the three – Kaede, Inuyasha, and Kagome – would've bombarded him with were cut off short as the door to the limo opened. Kagome expected a suspenseful three seconds as she wondered what Inuyasha's parents would be like. Instead, a young-looking, beautiful woman got out. Her long, raven locks seemed gleamed in the early morning light as she smiled at them.

"Inuyasha," she greeted him, her eyes twinkling merrily as she gave him a short hug. "It's so good to see you! Oh, you're father would be so proud at how handsome you've grown. And Kaede, thank you for taking care of this center so wonderfully."

Kaede nodded at her, grinning. "It's always been a pleasure, Izayoi-sama."

Izayoi laughed before turning her attention to Kagome. "Ah, and this must be that nurse I hear so much about. I must say, you truly are as gorgeous as I thought you would be."

Kagome's eyes widened and she blushed to the tips of her roots. "Um, no, I'm not that- - -"

Izayoi laughed again, a melodious sound that had Kagome instinctively relax. "And you're so modest! Inuyasha, you were surely lucky to have her care for you." She turned her attention to Inuyasha, who huffed.

"Kaa-san, no need to give her a swelled head – it's already swelled enough."

Kagome glowered in his direction and Izayoi chuckled heartily. "I'm very glad that you can put up with him, Kagome. I must say, I congratulate you on putting up with that."

Kagome wrinkled her nose. "Eh, I hid my sanity away so I wouldn't lose it, no worries."

The older woman smiled before realizing something. "Oh, Inuyasha. You're father wishes to eat by ten. So – Kagome, Kaede – I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but we need to get going."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "Of course, Miss. . ."

"Izayoi. Just Izayoi. I'll probably be seeing you around, so I'll talk to you later." She smiled before turning and walking over to the car. She stepped in and patiently waited for her son to join her.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and took a step forward. Kagome thought for a second he was gong to leave without even offering a good bye. But then he turned in her direction and smirked. Kagome opened her mouth to demand what was so interesting but she didn't get a chance to. The words died in her throat when he tenderly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Inuyasha. . .?" she murmured, slightly confused.

"Shh," Inuyasha shushed her. "Just shut-up, Kagome." She felt his hand enter her pocket for a second before retreating and her curiosity and confusion grew.

Kagome nodded, unsure as to what he was getting at.

"So then next time I see you, I want my dunch." He pulled away and Kagome looked at him, confusion evident in her eyes.

Inuyasha smirked before turning and getting in the car. The door shut and to Kagome, the moment the tinted glass hid Inuyasha from view, it was like they had suddenly become world apart. He was going back to his mansion – back to his life of stardom, more than likely.

Kagome had never felt so abandoned in her life. Small prickles teased her eyes and she realized she was crying on when she felt the warm droplets fall onto her clench fists. Kaede most likely offered some words of support, since her mouth was moving, but Kagome couldn't hear it. The limo's engine purred to life and Kagome panicked inwardly. She wanted to call out for Inuyasha to wait – to stop, to stay, to _anything_ besides leave – but her words didn't leave her throat.

He was going home. He was going home and leaving and she shouldn't be bothered. Because he had wanted to go home for a long time. Because he had been miserable in the stupid center. Because he would be happier home than here. Because he was just a patient and she was his nurse and –

And the realization came with no dramatics. There were no warm, fuzzy feelings in her chest. There were no happy emotions that came with it. The car didn't stop as it pulled out. There was no Inuyasha running to her, grinning like mad as he asked what took so long for her to realize it.

The only thing she felt as her new epiphany sank in was a cold, cold sense of acute loneliness. She watched the black limo as it drove away until it was no longer visible. Only then, when she no longer had any sense of closeness to Inuyasha, did she slowly sink so she was sitting on her haunches and let out a sob.

It was then that she allowed her thoughts to surface again. And the one thought that repeated itself in her mind only made her even more miserable.

'_Oh, God. Oh, God. I love him. Oh, God. I _love_ him. Oh, oh, oh _God_. What's wrong with me? He's my patient. I'm a nurse. Oh, God. Oh, God. I actually love him. I love him. I love him. I love him so, so, so much. It hurts. It hurts. Oh, God. I love him. I love him. I love_

000000000

**(E/N: I AM GOING TO** **JAPAN!! Yes I know I'll put the pictures on a website when I get them. I'm going this month on the 12th of June!)**

**Sometimes I hate my beta… why does SHE get to go to Japan without me? –glowers- Anyhoo…**

**In case you didn't know, "**Itadekimasu**" is literally "**let's eat**" and is what you say before a meal in Japan. Forgive all the crap cooooorn and corniness of this chapter, as well!**

**Um… R&R?**

**Ja ne!**


	38. The Fluffy and the Toad

Disclaimer: :Inuyasha: -holding a clipboard with a sheet of questions- And do you own me?  
-Glumly- No…  
:Inuyasha: And do you own the copyrights to the series all on me – _Inuyasha_?  
-Says just as glumly while pouting- Noooo…  
:Inuyasha: So then what _do_ you own?  
The FLUFFINATOR!  
:Inuyasha: -.-

A/N: Please take **NOTE:** Inuyasha's father is known as Inu no Taisho. Thus, I have merely shortened it to Inutaisho. That is Inuyasha's father's name in everything I will ever write. So if I get any reviews that ask, 'where did HE come from??' I will sic the Fluffinator on you. –nod, nod-

AGE:  
InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Fluffy and the Toad

00000000

'_Oh, God, Oh, God, I love him. Oh, God. I _love_ him. Oh, oh, oh _God_. What's wrong with me? He's my patient. I'm a nurse. Oh, God. Oh, God. I actually love him. I love him. I love him. I love him so, so, so much. It hurts. It hurts. Oh, God. I love him. I love him. I love_

00000000

It hadn't changed.

He supposed he should've expected as much – it had only been a few months. . . But. . .

Nothing had changed in the least.

Inuyasha was filled with both relief and a cold indifference at the sight of his home – '_Mansion,_' a small voice corrected almost childishly. The word home was one associated with the faint smell of mommy dearest's home-cooking. The word home was associated with dinners at the tables and what are you doing get your elbows off the table. The word home was associated with a family room, or maybe a TV room, or a living room, or whatever it was called where the family would gather late at night – or early in the morning depending on how it was looked at – on the weekend and flick on a movie, maybe even pop some popcorn. . . A home was a place where a family lived.

The tips of Inuyasha's fingers ran along the flawlessly painted walls as he walked down the hall. His eyes drifted shut and he swore he could hear his mother's voice reprimanding him like she always used to when he was younger.

"_Inuyasha! What are you doing? The oil on your skin is going to leave streaks. A little boy doesn't walk like that, anyway._"

And unlike all those times when he was younger, he kept his fingers lightly pressed up against the wall as he continued down the hallway. He quite liked how the paint felt against his skin.

"Sumimasen, Inuyasha-san."

Inuyasha turned his attention to the girl who he assumed was a maid or something. "Yeah?"

"You're called for downstairs."

Damn impatient bastard-of-a-brother. "Yeah, I know. I'm decided to be fashionably late. How'm I doing so far?"

The girl colored. "Well. . . uh, your twenty minutes late?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Then I think I'll walk around for a few moments. Thanks for telling me, though, I guess."

She bowed – still flushed – before hurriedly making a departure mumbling a farewell.

True to his word, he spent several more minutes – nine to be exact – wandering around, letting flashbacks flood his mind as he walked through old rooms and halls. It took him another five to descend the stairs and yet another ten to finally run into his brother.

"Little brother." Golden eyes narrowed.

"Bastard," Inuyasha amiably greeted in turn.

"Long time no see. You're finally out of the loony bin, I understand."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "No, I'm still there. This is just a hallucination you're talking to. No biggie though."

Sesshoumaru was not amused. "I see you have managed to retain your humor as well."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I see you've also managed to keep your severe case of bastard-idos."

The other shook his head. "And it did nothing to improve your intelligence level _or_ vocabulary. Just what good did it do to you?"

"Keh. Rot in hell. What did you want to talk about?"

"Ah. I'm not the one who wishes to speak with you- - -"

"O-em-_geeeeee_!" a new voice squealed. "It's true; it's _true_! Fluffy-kins wasn't lying! Inu-chan _has_ returned!"

And then Inuyasha was flat on his back as he was glomped by an overly-hyper blur.

Inuyasha managed to keep back a smirk when he saw how comically appalled Sesshoumaru looked. Yes, he managed to repress the smirk – barely. "What's the matter, Fluffy-kins?" Inuyasha asked as he sat up, overly-hyper blur still firmly attached to his neck, much resembling a leech.

Sesshoumaru flicked his brother a look that expressed just how much the comment was appreciated before turning his attention to the leech on Inuyasha's neck. "Rin, I think my darling brother needs to breath."

"Fluffinator, shut up. Rin hasn't seen him in sooooo long! Rin was starting to think that he was gone forever. This is a moment to report in history text books: Inu-chan returns to his family." Rin squealed again. "Rin was starting to think that Inu-chan was gone forever!"

Inuyasha couldn't resist the urge to chuckle – all the while wondering how his bastard-of-a-brother managed to find such a hyper-active lover. The two were as different as night and day, really. "And Rin has decided to go back to talking in third person, I see," he commented with a grin.

Rin pouted before leaning back – Inuyasha's neck heaved a huge sigh of relief and took several hungry gulps of air – and answering. "I was just so excited to see you, you jerk." Really, the only time she ever spoke in third person was when she was speaking purely through emotions or was overly-excited. "Geez," she continued, rolling her eyes, "now I know why you _really_ don't have a girlfriend. It's not cuz you don't want one – it's cuz you can't find anyone who would put up with your attitude!"

Inuyasha chuckled heartily and before he could bite it back, replied, "Actually, I hate to burst your bubble, but I do have a girlfriend now." Almost immediately afterwards, a little chibi-fied, virtual Inuyasha started to bash its head against a very hard brick wall, moaning and cursing out his stupidity at the same time.

In the real world, where the real, un-chibi-fied Inuyasha stood, there was absolute silence. Even Sesshoumaru looked slightly taken aback – though it was slightly hard to tell since he still wore a mask of cool indifference. But his usually squinted-into-a-glare-of-promised-doom eyes had widened ever so slightly. That was scary enough.

Rin just looked downright comical. Her mouth was opened so wide that Inuyasha was tempted to tease her and tell her that she looked like she was hunting for flies. Her eyes were also wide, but unlike Sesshoumaru, they were so wide that it almost seemed like her eyeballs themselves would just roll right out of their sockets.

And finally, it was Sesshoumaru who interrupted the concert that the crickets were holding. A fine brow rose as he slowly asked, "You went into a loony bin and picked up a girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend!" Rin squealed.

"Is she- - -" Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he thought of the right word. "- - -disturbed? In any way possible?"

Rin let out an indignant squawk at her Fluffy-kins' word choice and Inuyasha growled. "Bastard," he ground out, attempting to keep his temper. "She is in no way a loony tune. Do not talk about her again like that if you like having teeth in your mouth."

Sesshoumaru regarded his brother for a long moment before nodding. "You're protective. That's a step in the right direction. Now, when do you plan on proposing?"

"Proposing?" Inuyasha spluttered, not sure what else to say. Surely the bastard wasn't talking about- - -?

But, oh, he was.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Women liked to be wooed. Keep that in mind as you think it out. And surprise her. Also, humans are fond of this thing – weddings – so be sure to give her a ring."

"Wedding?"

And that time, it was not Inuyasha who had spoken.

"My son, I was told that you had found a potential mate, but I did not know that you were. . . quite so serious about her."

Virtual-chibi Inuyasha went back to his brick wall and started chanting profanities.

The real Inuyasha shot his oh-so adorable brother a smoldering look before addressing the newcomer. "Father- - -"

Inutaisho grinned, golden eyes full of mirth. "I assume you will make plans for her to meet your family, of course."

Another smoldering look to the lovable bastard. "See, that's the thing- - -"

Inutaisho held up a hand. "I know that we're all excited about this new development, but there are problems that must be addressed. Inuyasha, come. Your mother is waiting in my office. We need to sit down and discuss a few things."

Inuyasha shook his head at himself and decided that he would clear the air on his. . . marriage to Kagome later. He nodded a farewell at Rin – and was slightly confused when he saw that her eyes had glazed over and she was frowning. As he passed Sesshoumaru, he did his best to discreetly stomp down on one of the bastard's feet, but the older male had an almost feminine elegance and he easily dodged Inuyasha's attempts.

So Inuyasha entered his father's office looking fit to kill something.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Izayoi gently asked, her smooth voice easily carrying over to him despite the distance between them.

Her adorable son crossed his arms in a very mature way as he continued to trek across the room and plopped down in his favorite leather couch. "Nothin', mum." He inwardly cringed at the old endearment. He had called her such all through his childhood after they had vacationed for a summer in England and force of habit had him calling her mum even to this moment.

"Your mother and I have some. . . things to talk to you about, Inuyasha," his father informed him as he took a seat next to Izayoi.

"I'm listenin'," Inuyasha replied.

"First of all, there's something we have to. . ." His father drifted off and clasped his hands together before placing his elbows on the desk in front of him. Inuyasha had to quirk a brow at that. It wasn't often that his father didn't finish a sentence. In fact, this was a first.

"Yeah?"

"I think I should be the one to tell you this," Izayoi said in her soft voice. "It's. . . well. . . Inuyasha, you have to understand something before I tell you this."

His golden eyes slowly traveled between his mother and father a few times before settling on Izayoi again. "Is it really that bad that you can't spit it out?" he slowly asked, slightly unnerved. His parents had always been upfront and blunt with him. Always.

"The center you were at, I run it."

Inuyasha remained silent, his eyes narrowing at his mother as he waited for her to continue.

"Kaede is an old friend of the family and I – we – set it up so that it would be Miroku acting as your personal nurse." Izayoi paused to glance at her mate before continuing, "Kouga and Naraku – well, mostly Kouga – were put in with you to help you feel more comfortable. Naraku's mental stability was being questioned, so he was enrolled for his sake as well as yours. We were. . . afraid, I guess you could say. After the whole mess with Kikyou and MenouMaru, we figured we couldn't be too safe with you. You were. . ." Izayoi drifted off and shook her head slowly, trying to find the right words. "You were just so _lost_. You cut yourself off from the world – you wouldn't even _talk_ to Rin, and you two had always been extremely close. We were scared you really would lose yourself to your depression. You understand why we did this, don't you?"

Izayoi eyes, which had been trained somewhere above Inuyasha's shoulder, slowly traveled to meet her son's. When her dark eyes locked on Inuyasha's brilliant gold, her stomach lurched with nervousness and she went on without waiting for his answer.

"When months went by with barely any progress, I wasn't sure what to do. I was afraid that if you were let out, you would. . . _do_ something to yourself or something. And so when I received a report on a brilliant young girl who looked eerily like Kikyou, I decided to remove Miroku from the center for a while and replace him with her – with that young Kagome. I knew it was a risk, but – I suppose that old saying properly fits the situation, doesn't it? Make it or break it.' It was a huge risk to take with how shaky your relationship with Kikyou was at the time, but in the end, it worked out." A relieved smile spread across Izayoi's face. "In the end, it all worked out." She looked over at Inutaisho and repeated, "It worked out well."

"Did you ever stop to think of how I would feel?"

Izayoi jerked at the tone Inuyasha used. She wasn't quite sure if it held animosity or not. He had looked away so she wasn't able to see his eyes and judge a reaction, either.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever think that- - -?" He cut himself off and looked up at her with a wild fire in the depths of his amber orbs. "Did it even matter how I felt throughout the whole thing? Did my fucking feelings not matter one bit to you? Either of you?" he added, his gaze flicking over to his father momentarily.

"Of course it mattered!" Izayoi protested. "That's precisely why we did it! This whole thing was set up for _your_ benefit. I did this for _you_, Inuyasha. I was so – I was – was _so_ scared about what would happen if- - -"

"If your precious son went insane?" Inuyasha asked darkly. "That's right. What would that public think if you had a _damaged_ son?" He spat the word 'damaged' out like it was some sort of verbal poison. "Your damaged half-breed of a son."

Izayoi flinched at the harsh words and weakly shook her head. He saw her open her mouth to speak further – '_To make more excuses_,' Inuyasha mentally added – and then he saw the carpeted floor. He blinked in confusion before realizing that he was no longer sitting on his favorite leather couch but was on all fours on the floor with a prickly hotness spreading in his cheek.

"Inutaisho!" Izayoi gasped.

And then he understood what had happened. His father had struck him. Inuyasha could only remember a handful of times that his father had ever struck him. In fact, Inuyasha only needed half a hand to count every account. This one included.

Slowly, he looked up to lock eyes with Inutaisho. He didn't bother saying anything – rather, couldn't say anything. He could very easily see that his father was furious.

"Don't," his father said in a voice that was slightly deeper with anger, "say such _blasphemy_ in my home. Such language is not to ever be used."

Numbly, Inuyasha realized that his father was angry at the fact that he had called himself a damaged half-breed. Inuyasha pushed himself up so that he was sitting on his haunches and still said nothing.

"Like it or not, believe it or not, take it as you will, we _did _do this for your benefit. Am I wrong when I say that you have found a potential mate?" Inutaisho slowly crossed his arms and Inuyasha closed his eyes.

'_Kagome_.' Her name even sounded sweet, especially after not being in her presence for almost twenty-four hours.

'_Why are you getting so upset about this?_' his youkai asked. '_We did benefit greatly from this experience. If they hadn't put us in that crazy funky farm then we wouldn't have met her, now would we?_'

The words of his distastefully wise youkai were one hundred percent true – not that he would _ever_ tell the stupid thing that – but, still. . .

'_They didn't have to lie to me._'

'_They didn't lie to you!_' his youkai scoffed. '_Had they told you from the beginning what their plan was, I highly doubt that you would've gone along with it, am I right? Of course I'm right, why am I even bothering to ask you?_'

Inuyasha gave an exasperated sigh. Sometimes he really wished that he could clobber the damn voice. . .

'_Wait – he said mate._'

His youkai seemed taken aback. '_You haven't figured that out yet? You think we go around kissing everything with breasts?_'

'_No, but- - -_'

'_For my sake! For once in your life just _agree_ with me! I'm always right! If I say that the wench is our soul mate, then the wench is our soul mate!_'

Inuyasha scoffed at that.

"Well?" Inutaisho asked, snapping him away from his mental argument.

"I suppose," Inuyasha grumbled somewhat bitterly. With that, he rose to his feet and made his way to the exit, still frustrated at his parents and youkai voice for ganging up on him.

"Wait, Inuyasha- - -" he heard his mother call but his father interrupted her.

"Let him go. He needs to calm down before we discuss anything further."

'_Calm down, indeed_,' he mentally huffed and ripped the door open. He blinked in surprise when Rin was on the other side of it. She squeaked and nearly fell over backwards before gaining her equilibrium and looking up at him innocently. "I- I wasn't eavesdropping!"

Inuyasha couldn't keep the chuckle in if he tried. Shutting the door behind him, he shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway," he replied. He was slightly taken aback at how softly he spoke. He was pissed, dammit. And he was supposed to sound ready to rip something to shreds.

He decided that it didn't matter if he sounded angry or not and took a step in the direction of his room. Inuyasha nearly stumbled when something latched onto his arm.

"Rin was against it, you know."

His golden eyes widened before he slowly turned his head to look at her. Rin had grabbed a hold of him with both of her arms and buried her face in the material of his shirt.

"Rin was against it the whole time," she continued, tightening her hold on him. "Rin never wanted Inuyasha to leave. Even Fluffy was slightly put off by the idea of it. Rin. . . Rin never wanted to hurt Inuyasha."

She sniffled and with a small inward panic realized that she was ready to cry. Inuyasha chuckled and ruffled her hair with his free hand. "Eh, it's alright, Rin. Really, it is. I don't care anymore."

Rin looked up at him skeptically.

"Really," he assured, slipping his arm out of her grasp. "I'm A-okay now."

Rin's dark, chocolate-colored eyes squinted as she observed him before she grinned brilliantly. "If you say so!" she chirped. "Well, Fluffy-kins is probably wondering where I am. Ciao!"

A small smile stole over Inuyasha's lips as he watched her skip off. She was a little like Kagome.

'_Kagome_. . . _I wonder if she got my present yet._'

He sighed gloomily before trudging off in the direction of his room.

Geez, he missed that wench.

00000000

The streets were slightly busy between the hours of one and three. She didn't know that. Really, she didn't. She thought that the streets were only overly crowded at rush hour more towards dinner time when everyone was rushing home after work. But she had never had much free time so early in the afternoon, so she had never known that the streets were cramped at this time of day. Otherwise she would've stayed at home or something.

She _should've_ been at work, but Kagome found it near impossible to go in today. Kaede had continually insisted on having today off since she had worked a week straight so diligently, even going so far as to spend the night with her patient, being Inuyasha.

Kagome decided she didn't want to know how Kaede found out about that one.

Mayu had been given to Miroku to look after her for the day and Kaede had smiled and promised Kagome that the doors were not open to her today and that Kaede would call the cops and report her for trespassing if she even came near the building.

Awesome boss, no?

So Kagome had accepted the time off but found her apartment to be too cramped despite the fact that it was quite roomy. Apart from that, she felt restless. With nothing to do, her mind freely wandered back to Inuyasha. And that just left her feeling mopey. So she had decided that the only thing left to do was to wander around town until she was exhausted enough to go home and take a nap or something.

And speaking of Inuyasha- - -

Kagome's brow furrowed as her hand slipped into her pocket to tightly grasp the small trinket he had dropped in her pocket. When he had left the center with his mother, she had felt his hand briefly slip into her pocket. Almost immediately after her. . . elegant breakdown had ended, she had dove into her pocket to see what he had left her as a parting gift.

Now, more than a day later, she pulled it out again to inspect it.

It was a small golden locket. A heart-shaped locket. Her nose crinkled in amusement at the fact that it was shaped like a _heart_.

'_Corny-much, Inuyasha?_' she mused to herself, smiling sadly.

She hooked her fingernails into the grooves along the heart pendant and popped it open to look inside. On either side of the heart, there was a small space big enough for a small picture to fit in. On the left side of the heart was a small picture of Inuyasha. However, instead of smiling at the camera, he looked like he was in the middle of snapping some order or command at the photographer who took the shot.

'_That's so Inuyasha,_' she thought as her chin trembled slightly. Kagome bit her lip harshly. She wasn't going to cry. She was _not_ going to cry. She had cried over it. Boo-hoo, Inuyasha was gone and she was never going to see him again- - -

She barely suppressed a sob.

'_I said I wasn't going to cry!_' she snapped to herself.

Kagome took a deep breath to steady herself before letting it out in a sigh and continuing down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. So what if she was in love with Inuyasha? So what if she was most likely never going to see him again? So what if she felt like something was eating her heart from the inside out? It didn't really matter. Who really cared about poor little Kagome- - -

- - -Yes, hello to you, too, Sango- - -

- - -anyway? It's not like Kagome would've had a chance in hell at winning Inuyasha's heart. He was famous and- - -

- - -and hold the phone. Rewind and freeze. Hello to you, too, Sango? Kagome backpedaled until she was standing in front of the window of a small cafe. And there, sitting in one of the booths, dressed in a deep green tank-top and dark blue jeans, was none other than Sango. She covered her mouth and laughed at something, leaning forward slightly. Kagome's eyebrows knitted. What had been so funny- - -?

- - -Oh, hello, Miroku. Top of the morning to you. How are you on this fine day?

'_Alright, lemme get this one straight,_' Kagome told herself as she stared at the happy twosome. _I was told by my boss that I wasn't allowed to go to work today, I'm not permitted anywhere near the man I love, and now two of my co-workers are together? Wow, I need an Advil. This is enough to give anyone a headache._'

'_You said it, sister._'

'_Oh, yeah,_' Kagome added. _'I also have another voice in my head talking to me at random intervals of the day claiming to be some sort of conscience. And people thought Inuyasha was crazy?_'

Kagome continued to watch the interaction between Sango and Miroku, far too fascinated to look away, for several long minutes. Under any other circumstances, she would've called the hook-up impossible. Miroku was too much of a pervert to settle with one woman and Sango was always annoyed with the hentai's lecherous personality to give him a second glance. But seeing them sitting so close together, they looked like they almost belonged with the other – like they completed one another or some corny cheese like that.

Miroku leaned forward over the table between him and Sango and said something most probably perverted due to the fact that Sango's face grew ten shades redder and she gave her – boyfriend? Lover? – a reproachful look. But Miroku's lips moved again, making up for whatever he had said before, and Sango smiled gently before she also leaned over the table slightly. Miroku moved forward even more and the space between the couple slowly grew smaller. Sango's eyes fluttered before shutting.

Blushing hotly, Kagome whirled. That was plenty enough for her to witness. Sure, she was happy for them, but there was no way she was about to witness a make-out session – the first make-out session, maybe?

Kagome sighed as her mind traveled back in time and she remembered the first time she had kisses Inuyasha. Or he had kissed her, technically. It had been right after he freaked at Sango and he had been a mite upset. She was sure he had acted on impulse, but. . . Just remembering the electrical sensation that had flooded the skin of her lips was enough for her fingers to idly travel up to her lips.

Her other hand slipped into her pocket and curled into a fist around the small locket he had given her. She pulled the necklace out and opened it again for the 9th time and looked at the small picture inside of it. Inuyasha's expression was a priceless one, indeed. Only he could look so adorable while looking so angry and miffed. The crease in the middle of the photo didn't do anything to take away from the quality of the picture at all. And even the small bulge- - -

'_Wait. . . bulge?_' Kagome brought the locket closer to her face so she could get a better look and saw that, indeed, there was a bulge in the picture. She blinked in surprise. '_Is there something behind it_?' Curious, her short finger nails started scraping over the metal frame of the locket. It jerked open and the small portrait came loose. She peeled it out saw that there was a small slip of folded paper crammed in the workings of the heart shaped pendant.

'_What the. . .?_'

Kagome pulled the slip of paper out of the locket and slowly unfolded it. The entire piece of paper was incredibly small and in small, slanted writing was a short message that had her heart skip a beat:

_I expect this back._

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she pocketed the pendant but kept the note between her fingers.

'_Looks like my day is looking up after all_.'

00000000

It was a frog. It had to be. Or maybe a toad. . .

Nah. Definitely a frog. Although she had to admit that it was certainly disconcerting to think that there was a human-sized frog-man.

"Well, what can I do for you, little girl?" the toad-man asked in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.

Kagome nearly burst out laughing. "I need to see Inuyasha," she managed to choke out behind a hand.

_Jaken_, the tag on his shoulder screamed at the world in bright orange letters. Who hired a frog-man named Jaken for a security guard? Just. . . just no. It didn't work. No one was going to take the man seriously.

The man – Kagome swore his skin was _green_, like that Elphaba girl from the comical musical _WICKED!_ – narrowed his eyes and squeaked, "I am not permitted to let _anyone_ in. You included, young miss."

Kagome let out a strangled snort of laughter as she tried to keep a straight face. Jaken, the epitome of gay. Who named their child Jaken, seriously? What mother was that cruel?

Wait. . . was his mother and father also toad-people?

"I'm sorry to intrude, but. . . Inuyasha dropped something and I need to give it back."

Jaken's slanted eyes narrowed at her. "I've heard that excuse many of times, sister. Move along now. No one is allowed in unless they're expected. And there was only one person who was permitted a visit today and you are not him."

Kagome pulled the locket from her pocket and popped it open so that he could see the picture inside of Inuyasha. "I'm not kidding. See? He dropped this and I need to give it back."

Jaken waved the pendent away like an annoying fly. "It's nice to know that you have a picture of the young Inuyasha, but I highly doubt he would own such a thing. He doesn't have any girlfriends and he's not a gay man. . . At least, I don't _think_ so. . ." he added as an afterthought.

Kagome let out a small sigh of frustration. "It really is his!"

The green man glowered at her, losing his patience. "Look, if it's really his then give it to me and I'll be sure to tell him about it later on."

"No!" she exclaimed. "Because I also need to speak with him! Please?"

Jaken sighed and was about to reply when the large, porcelain gates shuddered. He stood erect in his small booth as the gates slowly opened. Kagome turned to see who was coming out curiously.

"Jaken," a cool voice said.

"Yes, sir," Jaken replied.

Kagome raised a brow at the man. He definitely looked like he had lost his way and was trying to get back to the circus, she had to say. His long hair was a lime-green color with hints of white. He was cold and his expression was completely stoic. He was dressed in an unusual outfit. Kagome resisted the urge to direct him back to the nearest circus.

"Good afternoon," she greeted politely.

The man's attention snapped to her and his cold eyes flicked over her for a second. "And who's this?" Even his tone was unemotional.

Kagome opened her mouth to reply but found that for some reason she couldn't find her voice.

A slender brow rose on the man's forehead. "Are you mute now? Well, no matter. You didn't look bright to begin with." He looked over at Jaken for a second, nodded, and looked back at Kagome again. "While I may not be too fond of Inuyasha at the moment, I know how annoying it is for hookers to hang around. So just leave, I can vouch for him when I say he's not interested."

Kagome's cheeks turned an indignant pink at that and she let out a small squawk. The man didn't wait around to see how she would reply, but instead continued walking past her.

She ground her teeth to keep her patience before turning her attention back to Jaken. He squeaked at her murderous look. "I. Want. To see. Inuyasha," she growled.

"I- I'm sorry, but he was the only one allowed in today- - -"

Kagome closed her eyes briefly to keep her temper in check before turning and walking away.

Plan B time.

00000000

Jaken blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, I thought we just ordered our monthly ramen three days ago."

The brunette woman let out a high, shrill laugh. "Oh, you are mistaken. This is the _finest_ ramen in the lands. Inuyasha is _sure_ to love it even more than his usual order!"

Jaken was unsure of that, but. . .

"You said it's a new product?" he asked.

The short-haired woman nodded. "Oh, yes! This was just made yesterday. It's the _newest, best_ pro- - -" The woman swung an arm and with the momentum, her head snapped to the right with a jerk.

And just like that, Jaken found his eyes were covered with something.

"Help! Help! I can't see!" he cried, flailing his arms. When the thing finally fell down due to gravity, he blinked at it. ". . . It's a wig. . .?"

He looked up and blinked. "She's gone?"

Around the corner, Kagome was clutching her chest. "Geez, that was too close. . ."

Plan C, anyone?

00000000

Jaken wasn't sold. . .

"Are you _sure_?" he squeaked.

"Ho, ho! Yes, I am!" the young man proclaimed in an obviously fake low voice. Not that Jaken picked up on that, oh no!

"Hmm. . . but I'm sure that Miss Izayoi would've announced if we were expecting a doctor today. . . And aren't you a little young?"

"Oh no! Not at all my young friend. I am the genius of my class. I graduated from high school early. I am Mr. Tatsuya Mistu- - -" The young man went to take a bow and his hat flipped off, allowing long raven locks to be released.

"Hey!" Jaken cried.

Kagome winced before straightening back up. "Um. . ."

"Don't make me call security!" the frog-man squealed.

"O- Oh look!" Kagome cried, pointing at the sky away from the mansion. "A distraction!"

"Where?" Jaken cried excitedly. "I don't see it. Where is it? That airplane? Where!?"

Kagome didn't answer right away. Instead she grabbed a hold of the iron gate and started climbing it. When she was half-way up, she called down, "It's there alright. You're just not looking hard enough."

"I see it!" he proclaimed proudly. "I see it- - - Oh, wait. That's another airplane. Where did you say it was- - -?" Jaken turned to look for Kagome and blinked when she wasn't there.

"It's there!" he heard her call from above.

Above?!

Jaken leaned out of the booth and squawked. "What are you doing?! Get down! Get down I say! Down, down, _down_ this instant!"

Kagome pulled herself over the top and quickly started climbing down. "I'm sorry, I can't. I need to speak to Inuyasha," she replied.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no! I cannot allow you to go in!" Jaken pushed a button and the gates groaned as they started to move. Kagome squeaked in surprise before jumping down. Her feet hit the ground with a thud and the gates started to swing inwards. Jaken was running out of his booth to chase after her.

So she turned and started sprinting towards the front entrance.

"Wait! Wait! Wait, I said! You there – stop!" Jaken screeched from behind her.

'_Yeah, sure, toad-boy. I'm going to stop so that you can call security_,' she thought to herself as she continued towards the front door. Seriously, how intelligent were people anymore?

Her feet worked double time as she climbed the short flight of stairs and she didn't have time to slow down when she reached the top so she smashed right into the door.

Kagome groaned before peeling herself off of the slab of wood. Blindly, she groped for the door knob.

"Stop right there! Don't go any further! I'm calling security and they'll kick you out!" Jaken was much closer this time. In fact, he was halfway up the stairs. Kagome's fingers finally grabbed a firm grip of the handle and she yanked the door open.

"_Stop!_" Jaken shrieked desperately as he jumped the last stair. Kagome paid no heed to him, however, and slipped inside before slamming the door shut behind her right in Jaken's face.

She leaned back against it, making sure to lock it, and heaved a sigh of relief. "That was an adventure and a half," she panted.

"Yes, it was quite the adventure indeed," someone agreed with her.

Kagome jumped, yelped, and whirled to face the newcomer. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw just who it was. "Inu. . . yasha?" she murmured hesitantly.

"I'm quite hurt that you would so easily confuse me with my idiotic little brother," he said. "And who might you be? I thought that we weren't expecting any other guests today besides MenouMaru."

Surprised, Kagome belted, "That was _MenouMaru_?!"

The silver-haired male nodded. "Yes, that was MenouMaru that you saw earlier. I hope he didn't do anything to hurt you. He has quite a temper, though."

Kagome shook her head. "No. No, I'm fine. Anyway, where are my manners? I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"Sesshoumaru Takahasha," the other replied smoothly.

Later, Kagome would duck her head in shame and slap her forehead at her stupidity. Instead of saying anything intelligent like she had originally planned, her eyes widened and her mouth made a small _o_ before she exclaimed, "So _you're_ the bastard!"

00000000

**(E/N:****Don't you just love this chapter? I do, it makes me happy.)**

**And Fluffy is among us at last. **

**Let me tell you this now: The ONLY reason why this update is so quick is because today is my first day off of school for summer vacation. I'm leaving on Sunday to go camping, though…**

**And the locket? Think the necklace from the second movie. (If you haven't seen that movie… erm. Then I'm sorry?)**

**I nearly forgot to add: "**sumimasen**" is roughly translated as "**excuse me**."**

**Ja ne!**


	39. It's all Over

Disclaimer: Um… I fish for pennies to buy my lunch every day. That clue you into whether or not I own it?

A/N: Blerg. Summer has come and I'm even more exhausted than I was during the school year. –falls over-

AGE:  
Inuyasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Thirty-Nine: It's All Over

00000000

Later, Kagome would duck her head in shame and slap her forehead at her stupidity. Instead of saying anything intelligent like she had originally planned, her eyes widened and her mouth made a small _o_ before she exclaimed, "So _you're_ the bastard!"

00000000

"Eh?" Izayoi blinked at her husband. She waited a few seconds, hoping that her mate would elaborate on his own. When he did not, she nearly rolled her eyes and asked, "And who is our unexpected visitor?"

Inutaisho slammed his book shut with a snap and placed it on his desk. "Why, I do believe it's Inuyasha's mate-to-be if I'm not mistaken."

Izayoi swallowed a squeal. "Oh, really? Well, we must be sure to better get to know her. I saw her when I went over to pick up Inuyasha, but now that we know how serious Inuyasha is about her, we _must_ arrange some sort of proper introduction."

Inutaisho agreed as he flipped open some documents. "But for now, we'll allow her to better acquaint herself with Sesshoumaru."

"Sesshoumaru is a good boy," Izayoi said softly. "He'll take care of her while she's here. He does take the whole mating thing quite seriously."

Inutaisho looked up at her and grinned. He held out his arms for her and she willingly came to him, allowing him to embrace her. "Yes. Yes, he does."

00000000

"I see that my brother has told you many wonderful things about me."

Kagome winced. "Well- - -uh- - -y'see- - - that is- - -"

A small chuckled escaped Sesshoumaru's lips and Kagome froze in uncertainty. "If I've lived my whole life with my foolish younger brother calling me such, I can live with one more. Though I have to admit I'm surprised at such. . . 'formality,' even if you are going to be his mate."

She colored in embarrassment. "I'm- I'm sorry," she stammered. "I swear it was purely instinct to blurt that out- - -Whuh?" Kagome blinked. "Um. . . mate?"

Sesshoumaru lifted a thin, pale eyebrow almost delicately. "Has my younger brother not informed you of his. . . intentions towards you?"

Kagome paused. "Um, intentions'?" she echoed hesitantly, not at all sure what was meant by that.

Sesshoumaru slowly tilted his head slightly. "If he hasn't told you, then. . ." The older male drifted off and a smirk stole across his lips. "Then how exactly does he plan to take you as a mate if you don't even know about his intentions? Has he stooped so low as to rape someone?"

"Eh!?" Kagome was _really_ confused by this point.

Instead of replying, he shook his head. He lifted a hand and slipped his fingers through his long locks of platinum hair. The action caused Kagome to look down at his hands and she noticed for the first time that he was holding something. "Never mind."

Kagome looked back up to make eyes contact. "Oh. Well, anyway. . . Um, what's that you have there?" She nodded towards his hand.

"Ah. This?" He held up the item and Kagome nodded. "It's just a wallet," he informed her.

"So then it's your wallet?" Immediately after asking the question, she wanted to slap her forehead. Of _course_ it was his wallet. Who waltzed around with random people's wallets- - -?

"Actually, no," Sesshoumaru confessed.

Kagome blinked as her brain went to work. '_Uh. . . I seem to be in a building that is home to a rapist and a thief. Something wrong with that thought? No-o-o-o-o, of course not. I make it the highlight of my day to stop by for a spot of tea with fiends all the time._'

She cleared her throat and shifted awkwardly. "I, uh. . . I see, then."

Sesshoumaru's eyes glinted with amusement as he figured out what was running through her head. "It belongs to MenouMaru," he offered.

Kagome's eyes settled on the dark brown wallet again. "Is that a fact?" she asked lowly. For some reason, all her enthusiasm was sapped out of her at the second mention of the demon that made Inuyasha – her Inuyasha – so miserable.

"It is," the stoic – for the most part – man replied. "I called him not but five minutes ago to remind him that it was missing."

Kagome frowned for a second and had she been a lower woman, would've laughed at MenouMaru's stupidity. "How does someone forget their _wallet_?"

Sesshoumaru spared the wallet a look. "Yes, it does seem quite idiotic," he agreed. "But the fact of the matter is that he did leave it behind and that he's going to be here any minute to pick it up."

Kagome made a face. "Ugh."

"And he's bringing his mate with him."

"_Ugh_." She wrinkled her nose. "I am _so_ out of here. Mind pointing me in the direction of Inuyasha?"

"As much as I would love to do that, I need you to meet our parents first. I'm sure they would enjoy being properly acquainted with Inuyasha's future mate."

Kagome rubbed her temples. "Urg. You keep saying mate, mate, mate, mate, mate. What do you _mean_ by that? Inuyasha and I _aren't_- - -"

Sesshoumaru's smirk turned to one of amusement. "The idiotic brother of mine did explain the demons process of mating to you, didn't he?"

Kagome hesitated. "Um. . . yeah, but- - -"

She winced as a small speaker by the front door squealed and crackled to life. "My lord!" a voice squeaked. Immediately, Kagome recognized it as the green frog-toad-thing – Jaken, wasn't it? "MenouMaru-san and his mate are through the gates and coming to the house as we speak."

Kagome automatically glared at the door, hoping something would jam and make it impossible to open the door.

"Very good, Jaken. Thank you," Sesshoumaru called. Jaken let out a pleased "Hee hee" at the compliment and the speaker crackled again before shutting off.

"Um," Kagome began. "I'm thinking that if I see MenouMaru, I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions. He _is_ the one who hurt Inuyasha after all."

Sesshoumaru chuckled. "You are also protective. I have to say, this is definitely a step in the right direction."

The nurse gave him a look and contemplated asking just what he meant by that but she didn't have time. Instead, there was a knock at the door. Instantly, Kagome tensed and found herself torn between fleeing the area and confronting the bas- - -the demon that had caused Inuyasha so much trouble.

Sesshoumaru opened the door and stepped back.

And then MenouMaru stepped in.

Kagome noted with slight annoyance that he didn't just _walk_ in, oh no. He _waltzed_ in with enough self confidence to choke a whale.

She found herself hating him even more than ever.

"MenouMaru," Sesshoumaru greeted coolly.

Cold, emotionless eyes flicked over to him and they had a brief staring contest.

"And where has your mate wandered off to?" the silver-haired demon inquired politely.

For a minute Kagome thought that MenouMaru was going to completely ignore both her and Sesshoumaru, but after a long paused, he finally decided to grace them with an answer. "She took the back way in. The only reason why she came with me was to talk to Inuyasha."

"And why would she need to speak to Inuyasha?" Kagome butted in, her voice coming out slightly colder than she intended.

MenouMaru flicked his expressionless gaze in her direction. Their eyes met and she was floored. Being a nurse, she easily picked up the signs. MenouMaru's apathetic face was ghostly pale – unnaturally so – and his cheekbones were definitely sunken in. Dark shadows marred the flesh below his eyes, contrasting harshly with his pallid complexion. His cold eyes were glazed over with what most likely pain.

'_Is he that sick?_' she wondered to herself before during a quick skim of his overall appearance. He was definitely thin. Too thin, in fact. She hadn't been paying attention earlier – she had been too distracted by his 'circus suit' – but she was sure that his ribs were taut against his skin. She also noted that he was haggard and all that was keeping him from slouching with exhaustion was his pride.

'_What's wrong with him?_'

Did demons get sick? Didn't they have some sort of amazingly powerful immune system?

"I'm sure that she has her reasons," MenouMaru replied icily. "What concern is if of yours, anyway?"

Kagome bristled at that, completely set on retorting with a hot remark. However, she didn't need to worry about it. Sesshoumaru cut in for her.

"It is her full concern," he informed MenouMaru crisply. "Higurashi Kagome is soon to be a Takahasha – the mate of Inuyasha. I suggest you learn how to properly address her as such."

MenouMaru regarded Kagome for a few seconds before a malicious grin stole across his face. "I see. I offer you my full congratulations." With that, MenouMaru deemed her of no more importance and turned to face Sesshoumaru. "I have no more business here. I will take my leave as soon as what is mine is returned to me."

Sesshoumaru held out his hand with the wallet but didn't make a move to walk across the hall to properly hand it to the other demon. MenouMaru set his jaw and stared back at Sesshoumaru. Kagome nervously looked between the two. The air was definitely tense. So much so that she was sure one of them would up and attack the other one. Both males were determined not to move and unless the damn wallet had sprouted either legs or wings, they would be standing there all day.

A full two minutes passed with both demons not giving in an inch and finally Kagome threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and trudged over to Sesshoumaru, yanked the wallet from his hand, and whirled to give it to MenouMaru. He took it without bothering to look at her, instead continuing his staring contest with the silver-haired demon.

"Men!" she exclaimed to herself as she stepped out of their line of sight. "I swear!"

MenouMaru completely ignored her but he did turn away from Sesshoumaru. "I shall be going now." Without further ado, he opened the door and stepped through, closing it behind him.

Kagome shuddered. _That is one cre-e-e-e-epy dude_,' she told herself.

"Now that that is out of the way, I do think that my parents would like to speak with you."

"Oh." Kagome blinked. "Oh, yeah. Um. . . do I have to?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a look that a parent would give a child throwing a temper tantrum. "I'm not going to make you, but I do believe it would be beneficial to your. . . relationship with my foolish younger brother."

Kagome sighed in resignation before rolling her eyes. "Oh, I suppose it won't hurt," she finally conceded.

"Then follow me."

00000000

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he looked over at his door before he even heard the knock.

"Come in," he hesitantly called in reply to the three raps at his door. He wasn't sure who would bother to knock, really, unless it was either his parents or a maid. He had asked everyone to leave him alone, so that eliminated the possibility of a maid and his parents had told him they were going to be slightly busy that day. So he was definitely floored as to who it was that was entreating entrance at his chamber door.

That is, until he caught a whiff of the scent. And then he wanted to blurt out that the person on the other side of the door was _not_ welcome and that they could turn around and march away.

But he didn't have time to blurt anything.

And Kikyou walked in.

His amber eyes narrowed at her. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Kikyou jerked like he had struck him. "Can't I just come to see my best friend and see how he's doing?"

"You lost that privilege when you slept with MenouMaru," Inuyasha told her stiffly. "And you stopped being my friend when you broke my trust."

"I didn't- - -" She abruptly drifted off and looked down, crestfallen. "I really didn't do this to hurt you," she whispered. "Please, Inuyasha, please. Please believe me. I love you. I swear I do. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I swear I wouldn't."

Kikyou peeked up at him and hesitantly started taking a few steps towards him. When Inuyasha neither moved forward nor took a step backwards, she was encouraged and lengthened her steps towards him. "Inuyasha," she murmured. She stopped right in front of him and looked up at him.

"I really do still love you," she said softly. "I swear it. . ." Kikyou lifted a hand and went to touch Inuyasha's cheek but he jerked away from her before any contact was made like she would burn him.

"Kikyou," he muttered levelly, "you have a mate now. And I have. . . I have someone I intend to make my mate. It's over. What we. . . had is gone."

Kikyou's murky brown eyes searched Inuyasha's face. "I don't love him," she whispered hoarsely. "Inuyasha," she choked. "Please, please help? I don't love him."

Inuyasha sighed, gently grabbed a hold of her wrists, and pulled them down to waist level. "There's no going back on demon mating. Didn't I tell you that countless times? It's not just a fling or a casual relationship. It's for life and you need to be exceedingly careful. I can't do anything to help you."

Kikyou stared at the ground dejectedly. "So I'm stuck with him?" she whimpered. "I'm stuck with someone I don't even care for?"

Inuyasha grinned almost sardonically. "You cared enough for him to sleep with him, didn't you?"

"For you!" Kikyou burst, her voice cracking with tears. "It was for you! Everything I did was for you! Everything!"

He shook his head at her, frowning. "How does sleeping with someone help me? There's no logic in that. None whatsoever. Kikyou, I think it's time for you to be leaving."

Kikyou jerked away from him. "He promised me he'd stop harassing you if I did it!" she cried. "I swear I did it for you! He was _hurting_ you, Inu-kun. I. . ."

Inuyasha jerked at the new bit of information and Kikyou took that motion as encouragement to continue.

"I already told you I loved you. He said that if I did that – if I slept with him – then. . . he'd leave you alone."

Inuyasha gave a resigned sigh and cupped her cheek with his hand. Kikyou's eyes fluttered shut and she leaned into the touch like a cat, enjoying every second of the contact.

"And you believed him?"

Her brown orbs snapped open and she looked at him in shock.

"You honestly believed _anything_ he told you?" Inuyasha continued, disappointment at her clearly in his expression.

'_You truly are a foolish girl._'

"Now it really is time for you to leave."

Kikyou's lips trembled.

00000000

Kagome stared at the door, very much so intimidated.

"Do I have to?" she near about squeaked.

"No," Sesshoumaru replied easily. "But it would be nice for you get to know your future in-laws, don't you think?"

Kagome 'meep'ed and whirled to stare at him, wide-eyed. "In-laws?" she repeated dumbly.

Sesshoumaru lifted a brow at her. "Are you still playing dumb? You love my brother, yes?"

"What does- - -"

"And he plans to take you as his mate, yes?"

"I really think I should be having this conversation with Inuyasha first- - -"

"Besides, my parents would like to see you either way. My mother is grateful for your help with Inuyasha at his loony bin."

Kagome sighed, wiping her face with her palm. "I really don't know why everyone insists on calling it a loony bin."

"It's all part of the fun," Sesshoumaru offered as he pulled open the large doors the led to Inutaisho's study. "Give my mother my best regards."

Kagome stepped through the door. "You can give them to her yourself, you know," she grumbled.

He chuckled. "How true that is."

And then he closed the door on her, effectively closing her in with Izayoi and Inutaisho.

So Kagome marched over to where Inutaisho and her mate were reclining, hands balled into fists and muttering death threats and how 'the baka was right he is a bastard what is his problem uuuurrrrg I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't I swear.'

"Good evening, Kagome."

She paused in her ranting to look up and see a young-looking man that had the same silver hair as Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru as well as the same bright golden eyes.

She gave a small, polite bow. "You're Inuyasha's father, correct?" she hesitantly inquired.

The older man nodded at her. "Yes, I am Inutaisho Takahasha. I believe you already met my mate, Izayoi."

Kagome turned her attention to the other woman and smiled cheerfully. "Yes, we've met."

Izayoi returned the smile with a small laugh. "Please take a seat, Kagome," she said. Kagome was once again floored at how Izayoi managed to have such a melodious voice but took up the offer. She sat in the black leather couch that Inuyasha was incredibly fond of and had to clench her hands to keep from twiddling her fingers in anxiety.

Inutaisho was quick to get to the point.

"How much do you care about my son?"

Kagome colored and stared at him, mouth hanging open and everything. "Eh- - -Ex- - -Excuse me?"

"What he _means_," Izayoi interrupted, giving her mate a reprimanding look, "is how close are you with Inuyasha? How much do you know about him? And how much do you know about his heritage?"

Kagome titled her head slightly, not completely following her. "Well, to answer your questions in order, I suppose Inuyasha and I are pretty close. I mean, well, technically he's my boyfriend. I know a lot about him as well, I guess. Not everything, no. But I'm sure that I know a lot more than a lot of other people. And by his heritage. . . you're talking about the fact that he's half-demon?"

Izayoi looked over at her husband for a second and she smiled at him, silently telling him to stay quiet for a while.

"Not quite," Izayoi replied, turning her attention back to Kagome. "But I am talking about his demon background. How much has he told you about youkai customs?"

Kagome shrugged. "We talked about them in passing."

"There's one thing in particular that I wish to discuss with you," the older woman said seriously. "And that's the mating ritual. Has Inuyasha told you anything about it?"

"Yes," she answered slowly. "He's told me quite a bit about it. I know that once a demon or anyone with demon blood mates, it's for life. I'm not sure how the whole thing works, but he was very adamant about the fact that demons mate for life. That's why he didn't mate with Kikyou, right?" Almost immediately after finishing her last sentence she winced. She hadn't meant to bring up Kikyou.

Izayoi nodded. "Did you know that there's only one person in the entire world that can be Inuyasha's mate?"

Kagome paused before shaking her head.

"It's determined the moment a demon is born on who their mate is going to be. Do you know why?"

Kagome shook her head again.

"Think of it this way. When you're born, you're missing part of yourself. It's just not there. Like a missing piece of a puzzle. When a demon finds a mate, the mating process just about merges the two souls of the mates. And so, that empty part of your soul is filled with your mate's soul. But just like a puzzle, your soul has an intricate design and there's only one soul that can perfectly complete you. Understand?"

She nodded, fascinated by the whole aspect of it. The idea of having a soul mate was an idea that society played with, but having it be so literal was something completely different. Though she had to admit, it was really cute. . .

"If, by chance, a demon mates with someone who isn't their proper mate, that empty part of their soul won't be filled correctly. Simply put, it'd be like trying to jam a corner piece of a puzzle into the middle. It just won't work. And the souls of both of the mates will deject the other. Can you guess what happens then?"

Kagome licked her lips nervously. "It can't be anything good by the sounds of it, right?"

Izayoi nodded and sighed. "I'll let you ask Inuyasha about that. I just wanted to make sure you understood why the demon process is permanent. There's no going back once it's complete. I want you to keep that in mind. I know that Inuyasha has been thinking about mating lately with your appearance, but you should also be thinking about it. Okay?"

"Yeah, I get all that. Anything else?"

"Actually, if it's not too much trouble, sometime soon I'd like to have another one of these visits, only with Inuyasha here as well."

That time it was Inutaisho that had spoken. Kagome looked over at him and grinned. " I don't think that there's anything wrong with that. Anything else?"

"Nope." Izayoi beamed. "That's all for now. We just wanted to make sure you knew about demon mating. We had to make sure that our future daughter-in-law knew what she was getting herself into."

Even Inutaisho couldn't resist chuckling when Kagome sputtered something indignant and choked out a farewell before racing to the door, a scarlet hue dusting her cheeks.

His amused smile didn't waver as the door closed. He leaned back against his chair. "She's quite amusing."

"Mm-hmm," Izayoi cheerfully hummed in agreement. "I can see why she's his soul mate." Her smile faltered and she sighed before crawling over to lean against Inutaisho. "But- - -"

"I know," he assured her. "I sensed it."

"She's a miko. Isn't it possible that she could purify him if- - -?"

"Anata," Inutaisho interrupted. "Don't doubt the mating process. If she is his mate then it won't matter. And I don't doubt that she is."

Izayoi closed her eyes and relaxed against him. "If you say so," she mumbled.

He flicked her nose. "I'm always right. Do not doubt your mate."

00000000

"Do you love her?"

Inuyasha knew the question was coming and looked right into her dark eyes and answered truthfully.

"Yes."

And then he mentally cringed when her eyes grew watery and she stared at him through crystalline clear pools of tears.

"Why?" she asked softly, hoping that he would take it back; tell her he was joking; anything that would help ease the rift that had formed between them with time. "Why?" she repeated when he didn't answer right away. "_Why_?" she said again, more forcefully, louder. Sounding so much more desperate.

"Kikyou," Inuyasha murmured instead, his eyes finally taking in her appearance. "What have you done?"

Kikyou covered her ears angrily. "I don't want to hear it anymore!" she exclaimed. "I don't care anymore! I told you I didn't do any- - -"

Inuyasha captured one of her wrists and slowly pulled it away from her ear. Despite her will to fight against him, she knew she would never be able to deny anything that he asked of her. "I didn't mean that," he said softly. Then he opened his hand and looked at her arm. "Look what you've done to yourself."

Kikyou looked down at her own arm, her dark eyes glazed over with resignation. Of course she had seen what had happened to her body over the past few months. She had lost her appetite; she had grown frail and pale; her bones protruded grotesquely from her skin; her ribs were very clearly evident beneath her shirt; her cheeks were sinking in and even her hair was losing its healthy sheen. Of course she knew what it all meant.

"Then help me," she begged hoarsely. "Help me, please."

Inuyasha laced his fingers with hers and yanked her arm very gently, causing her to stumble forward a step. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. "I can't, Kikyou. You did this to yourself, and there's no going back."

"You mean you don't want to." Her tone was dead and laced with her sadness.

He sighed and she felt his chest rise and sink under her cheek. "No, that's not what it means. No matter what, you're still my best friend and I care about you. It's not that I don't want to help – I _can't_."

She closed her eyes and soothed herself by listening to the rhythmic beating of his pulse. She bit her lip to keep from whimpering.

Inuyasha sighed and kissed the top of her head before releasing her. "Kikyou, you really need to go now."

The burning in the back of her throat and the threat of impending tears convinced her that he was right. But she managed to keep her tears at bay until she closed his bedroom door, at least.

00000000

Kagome fell against the door and grinned. "Hey, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. You go, girl!" she cheered herself on.

"You know, my brother insisted that you weren't – as he put it – a loony tune, but keep talking to yourself and people will start to wonder."

Kagome whirled in surprise. "Oh, it's just you," she muttered dryly.

Sesshoumaru tilted his head slightly. "You sure don't seem very enthusiastic. Does my brother have that large of an influence over your reactions to me?"

Kagome laughed softly. "Alright, I'm sorry. You're right. There's no reason for me to treat you like the bastard that Inuyasha- - -"

"_Oh-em-geeeeeeeeeee_!"

And then Kagome was glomped by a flying blur.

"Rin," a very horrified Sesshoumaru called. "Please get off of our guest. You're embarrassing the entire Takahasha family when you do things like- - -"

"Oh, shut up, Fluffy-kins. You didn't bother to tell me that 'the girlfriend' was here. I dun wanna hear a peep from you, got it?" Rin asked, tightening her grip on Kagome's neck.

"Rin, my dear, foolish little mate, you need to stop harassing our visitors and my brother," Sesshoumaru informed her, offering his hand to help her stand.

Rin stared at his hand before giving a long-suffering sigh of exasperation and taking it. "Oh, fine."

Kagome meekly sat up and looked up at the couple. "Um. . . hi?" she greeted the girl Sesshoumaru had addressed as 'Rin.'

Said girl let out a squeal. "Oh-em-gee! She's so cute!"

Sesshoumaru had to grab onto the back of her shirt to keep her from glomping the living day lights out of the nurse again.

"What did we just talk about?" he chastised Rin gently, like a mother would a rebelling toddler.

Rin pouted. "No neck-molesting people," she obediently replied.

"Very good," her mate replied before flicking his eyes to Kagome. "This is my mate, Rin Takahasha. She's a bit. . . wild. I apologize for anything she may do right now as I have limited control over her. . . crazy antics."

"Oh, you." She pushed his shoulder playfully. "Always bragging about me, I see."

Kagome watched the exchange with mild interest. She definitely didn't miss the way Sesshoumaru's eyes lit up around the. . . peculiar girl. Had she been one of those girly-girls, she would've gone 'awww' at the couple. Even though Rin seemed to be a hyper girl while Sesshoumaru was laid back and indifferent, it was quite obvious that he cared a great deal for her.

And thinking about couples brought her mind back to Inuyasha. With every passing second, she found herself growing more and more anxious to see him. Though it had only been a day since she last saw him, she missed him sorely. Quite pathetic, but it was the truth.

Rin turned her attention back to the miko. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she chirped. "Inuyasha hasn't told us a whole lot about you, but everything he _has_ told us was positive. But you're so much cuter than I thought you would be!"

Kagome wasn't sure whether that was an insult or compliment, but she had to laugh at Rin's cheerfulness. "It's good to see you, too," she replied honestly. "I heard a little bit about you. Inuyasha called you a poor girl that got caught in 'the bastard's' deceitful web."

Rin looked up at her mate skeptically. "I'm still not sure why I love him," she said playfully, face too serious to be sincere. "It's was either his charm or looks."

Kagome snorted and Sesshoumaru looked at Rin with a raised eyebrow. "And here I thought it was because I'm the only one- - -"

Rin's eyes widened and her face flushed crimson. "Fluffy-kins!" she interrupted quickly. "It's best that we point Kagome in the direction of her own mate and let the two lovebirds catch up. Besides, I wanna go swimming!" Rin squealed at the thought before addressing Kagome. "Down that hallway there you'll see a flight of stairs. Go up them and Inuyasha's room is the seventh door on the left."

Kagome blinked. "Okay. That works. Well, guess I'll see you around, Rin. . . _Fluffy-kins_." She smirked at the nick-name.

The man who from that day on would never live down the nickname of Fluffy-kins gave her a dry look. "You and my brother are more alike than you may think."

Rin tugged on his arm impatiently before whining, "Fluffy-kins, let's _go_ or I'll sing at you!"

A look of pure horror flickered across his features. "Then let us be off."

Rin squealed again before dragging him after her. "I'll talk to you later, Kag-chan!" she called over her shoulder as the two rounded a corner.

Kagome smiled and shook her head in slight wonder. Thankful for Rin's directions, she turned and started down the hallway. Along the way, she couldn't help but marvel at the many gorgeous paintings that dotted the creamy walls. Even the large marble staircase was extravagant. Its large gold railings twisted up and down for decorative purposes and Kagome found herself admiring them, fascinated.

When she reached the top of the staircase her eyes widened slightly as she took in the hall. It was just as beautiful as the rest of the house, but she noticed that the doors had a huge gap between them and she couldn't help but wonder how large the rooms were.

'_Well, you're going to find out, aren't you?_' she told herself before rolling her eyes, remembering Sesshoumaru's earlier comment about her sanity, and wondering just how insane she had to be to be talking to herself twice in the same hour.

She started counting the doors as she walked down the hallway, and as each door passed, she felt her bubble of excitement growing larger and larger. Before she realized what she was doing, she was grinning and jogging down the hall. Manners told her to stop and walk – it was rude to run in someone's house – but that little voice in her head was complaining that she wasn't running fast enough. The doors starting going by faster and when she counted the sixth one, she slowed her pace, ear-splitting smile still in place.

So caught up in her excitement, Kagome at first didn't see the figure hunched over, leaning against the wall.

She heard it.

Kagome froze when she heard the sob. It was sad and drenched in misery. Kagome started, slightly taken aback before peering at the woman more closely. The woman definitely looked familiar with long, straight, dark brown hair; a deathly pale complexion; and- - -

"Kikyou," she whispered.

The woman jerked and Kagome's well-trained medical eyes easily picked up how sickly and frail Kikyou looked. She looked almost like she was- - -

Kikyou looked up at her and she froze – she hadn't known she started advancing toward the other girl – as those cold eyes looked at her with a hatred she didn't know was possible. She had never seen so much animosity from one person before. Her breath caught in her throat – both out of fear and pity – when Kikyou shoved herself off the wall, stumbled, rightened herself, and continued to glare at Kagome with an unfathomable fury.

"Kikyou," Kagome finally said, holding out her hands and taking a hesitant step. "You're sick. You need to lie down or go to the hosp- - -"

"Don't." Kikyou's voice was just as cold as her eyes and trembled slightly with restrained emotions. "Don't you dare say my name with such familiarity. Don't you dare think you're being any help by coming here, either. What do you plan on _accomplishing_?"

Kagome mentally cringed at the words that were coated with such venom. If nothing else, Kikyou's tone was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. "I'm sorry. I just- - -" She cut herself off as the other woman started towards her. Kagome tensed, expecting a slap or some sort of physical hit. Instead, Kikyou stopped right next to her – and she couldn't help but feel relieved that their eyes were no longer locked.

"Inuyasha is mine. He will never be yours," Kikyou said lowly by her ear. And then Kikyou made sure to slam her shoulder into Kagome's as she continued down the hall. The beautiful crystalline-blue eyes, trained to pick up the smallest signs of discomfort in the human body, noticed the way that Kikyou was trying not to limp.

She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding with a whoosh and her shoulders slumped. And suddenly, more than anything else- - -

Kagome wanted to kiss Inuyasha.

She stumbled toward the door and her hand had barely brushed the knob when the door opened and she was looking up at him.

He grinned at her and managed to say, "I sensed you com- - -" before she threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, effectively knocking the poor, unsuspecting boy right off his feet and planting her lips on his in a hungry, needy kiss.

He let out a surprised grunt but didn't offer any further resistance. Instead, he returned it fervently, nibbling on her bottom lip almost instantly for entrance which she granted instantly. His tongue entered her mouth to map it out and memorize every part of her – teeth, gums, palate, the curves of her tongue; every- - -

They jerked apart with a start, panting, with a small bridge of saliva keeping them connected. Kagome was sitting on top of Inuyasha, with her legs straddling his stomach, her arms still around his neck and he was leaning on his elbows to keep from laying flat on the floor.

"What- - -was that?" Kagome asked breathlessly between pants.

Inuyasha shrugged and breathed heavily for a few seconds before tensing.

"Whuh?" Kagome questioned, still filling her lungs with much-needed oxygen.

His eyes drifted shut as another shriek reverberated off the walls. "I smell blood," he answered softly.

Kagome jerked again. "Are you sure?" she hesitantly asked.

Inuyasha didn't get a chance to reply.

Instead, another blood curdling shriek came from not-too-far down the hall.

"Miss Kikyou! Miss Kikyou collapsed!" The voice drifted off and in a slightly softer tone, the woman – probably a passing maid – muttered, "Oh god, oh god. She's bleeding _everywhere_. Oh god, oh god, I think she's

00000000

**Dead. Dying. Barely breathing. Sick. None of those?**

**Anyways. This chapter was slightly rushed. GOMEN! "**Anata**" is literally "**you,**" but it can also be used as "**darling,**" like it was in this chapter when Inutaisho was talking to Izayoi. **

… **I miss my beta… she's in Japan right now. –sad- She can't talk to me until she gets back so that means no 2 am calls of boredom. –even sadder-**

**Kay, so REVIEW! It's what my darling beta would want! :)**

**Ja ne!**


	40. Now or Never

Disclaimer: -licks finger and turns the page of a magazine- Let's see what's up with the world today… -goes silent and reads for a few minutes- Oh, my gosh! –jumps up from chair- The copyright to Inuyasha is going to sale!? –skims the article again- … Oh… -sits back down- Rumiko Takahashi is stopping the anime is all this is saying. Never-mind then. –goes back to reading-

A/N: XOMG. Wow, that was a loooooong wait. SORRY, SORRY, SORRY! –tear, tear- A better explanation is at the bottom!

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Forty: Now or Never

00000000

"Miss Kikyou! Miss Kikyou collapsed!" The voice drifted off and in a slightly softer tone, the woman – probably a passing maid – muttered, "Oh god, oh god. She's bleeding _everywhere_. Oh god, oh god, I think she's

00000000

Modern-day technology was something that could leave almost anyone in awe – except for the fact that everyone took said technology for granted. Machines could keep someone who was supposed to die on borrowed time for a long while. It could easily give and just as easily take life.

_Beep_. . . _Beep_. . . _Beep_. . .

_In_. _Out_. _In_. _Out_. _In_. _Out_.

The air almost sounded like music as it was forced through the tubes, through the mask, and finally into lungs.

_In_. _Out_._ In_. _Out_._ In_. _Out_.

For some reason, the sound was one that annoyed the ever-living out of Kagome. It was the sound that there was life and yet for some reason she utterly despised that sound. It was mostly because she hated ER rooms and she hated knowing that the only thing temporarily keeping someone alive was a machine that could easily be unplugged or turned off.

She absolutely _hated_ it.

And a machine was, indeed, the only thing keeping Kikyou alive at the moment. Kikyou's lungs were giving out and the muscle needed assistance in pulling in air – her diaphragm wasn't functioning properly anymore. Though the cause behind it was currently unknown.

'_Well, not unknown_,' Kagome corrected herself. '_I'm sure that Inuyasha has at least an idea as to what's going on._'

With those thoughts and a will of steel, Kagome stalked through the halls away from the window outside of Kikyou's room, intent on hunting down her hanyou.

And getting some damn answers.

00000000

"What are her chances?"

The youkai-doctor raised a single, thin eyebrow but said nothing.

Inuyasha growled at her. "Dammit, just tell- - -"

"You know why she's here," the doctor replied softly. "Don't you think that's answer enough?"

He raked his finger through his bangs with a soft sigh. "I know. . . dammit, I _know_. I knew from the beginning. But. . ." He drifted off and let out another sigh – this one frustrated.

She smiled at him piteously; sadly; knowing there was nothing that could be done. "I have been a doctor for over two hundred years. I have seen only a handful of cases like these – not even that many – and in every single occurrence, the outcome was the same. The young woman sealed her fate when she mated with a demon that was not her significant other."

Inuyasha ground his teeth together. "I _know_ all of that," he snapped.

"Then why did you bother to ask?" the doctor replied in a sharp tone. "Don't give yourself false hope. Don't delude yourself into thinking there's even a slight chance for her – she's as good as cremated. That sounds blunt and crude, but it's the truth. I've seen many other demons that acted like Hot Shit go insane because they thought there was a chance in circumstances like these." Her eyes softened as did her tone. "Go see her, comfort yourself, and say goodbye. Don't make things difficult. The most time she has now is twenty-four hours."

Inuyasha slumped against the wall that was behind him in resignation. '_I only have twenty-four hours? At _most_? Why is everything so fucked UP?_'

The youkai-doctor started to walk away and faintly he heard her voice from down the hallway murmur, "Make that time count."

For several long minutes – minutes that seemed to tick by much slower than normal – he let his mind wander. He thought about many things. He thought about things that he would've liked to do differently. He thought about things that shaped the reality he had right then. He thought back to when he first met Kikyou. And thinking about Kikyou brought his mind to Kagome, and his fiery feelings he felt for her, some of which weren't a hundred percent platonic.

'_Are you going to ask her to be your mate?_' his youkai piped up at the thoughts of Kagome.

'_Not right now,_' Inuyasha snapped in reply. '_How can you even think about something like that right now when- - -_'

'_Because you're going to ask her soon, so why waste your time? Just blurt it out already. She's gonna say yeah, so stop dilly-dallying._'

Inuyasha closed his amber eyes, trying to hone out the annoying voice that was harassing him in his mind. Sure, he had thought about asking Kagome to be his mate. Sure, he had imagined a life with Kagome by his side. Sure, he pictured having children with Kagome as their mother. Sure, he made little scenarios and fantasies about himself and Kagome.

And hell yes, he was going to tell her that he loved her. Soon – or hopefully soon.

"Inuyasha?"

He jerked out of his thoughts and turned with a smile already spreading across his face. "What's up?"

Kagome shifted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Will you please explain some things to me?"

"What would you like for me to explain?" he replied, but he already knew what she was going to ask him about.

"What's up with Kikyou?" Her voice was dry and held a demand.

Inuyasha ran his hand down his face. "Yeah. Yeah, of course you want to know that," he mumbled more to himself then anything. "Alright. Usually two demons, or in some cases a demon and a human or a hanyou and a human, become mates and their souls complete each- - -"

"I already know that," Kagome said, waving her hand dismissively.

". . . You do? When did I take the time to explain all of this to you?" He scrunched his brow as he thought. So far as he knew, he had never gone into a lot of detail on mating rituals and how it all worked.

"Your mother explained it all to me."

"My mother?" Inuyasha echoed dubiously. "When did you talk to _her_?"

"Earlier today," Kagome elaborated, slowly losing her patience. "Now, on with the explanation- - -"

"She didn't bother to tell you anything about this while she was at it?"

"_No_," Kagome growled. "Now, please get back to where you- - -"

"Well, that's weird," he commented. "You'd think that with all this drama going on, she'd want you to know everything about it."

"Inuyasha," she slowly began, her voice too calm and level to be natural. "Shut your mouth and get back to your stupid explanation before I call Rin out and get her to sing at you."

Inuyasha looked taken aback. "Geez, wench. No need to get violent. I'll tell you." He let out his breath in a whoosh before continuing. "It's only fair that I tell you anyway."

" 'Fair?' " Kagome repeated suspiciously. "And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"

"Nothin', nothin'. So. . ."

Kagome waited several seconds after he drifted off, but when he showed no signs of continuing, he waved her hand in the air in a _hurry_-_up_ gesture. "You were _saying_?" she encouraged.

Inuyasha remained silent and Kagome right about stomped her foot in frustration. "Inuyasha," she started, voice sinisterly calm and gentle. "I would like for you to tell me some. Time. To. Day, so if you would be _so_ kind as to get- - -"

"Kikyou's dying."

"- - -to the point- - -" She cut herself off and stared at him slack-jawed, taken aback at both his bluntness and the confession.

"Don't act so surprised," he almost snapped. "I'm sure you figured that out before now. With how she _looks_, hell, I'm surprised she lasted this long."

"How. . . I mean. . .?" Kagome asked softly, almost whispering.

Inuyasha looked away moodily. "I _told_ you – mating is for life."

"Oh gee, thanks for the clarification on that one!" she snapped.

He rolled his eyes but didn't reply to her outburst as he continued, "As my mother probably told you, there's only one person in the whole world that is meant to be a demon's mate. Know what happens when a demon mates with the wrong person?"

Kagome crossed her arms. "Well, apparently it results in death."

"That's it in a nutshell, yes, but do you have any guesses as to the specifics behind why?"

"No, I never took any courses on Demonology 101 and sorry to say that I never before got involved in demon affairs."

"Kagome, I'm trying to explain things," Inuyasha not-so-patiently explained. "If you're going to throw everything I tell you back in my face, then I'll just not bother and stop now."

"Well, I don't know if you _realize_ this, but Kikyou's apparently dying and no-one's doing anything about it," she retorted hotly.

"There's nothing we can do!" Inuyasha snarled. "Her soul is something that doctors can't heal. Sorry if that bursts your happy-go-lucky bubble, but people _die_. It's part of life. A dying person isn't going to go: 'Op, yeah, about this. Don't really feel like going right now. I'm going to make a lot of people sad so I'll just wait several years to kick the bucket' and roll out of bed and just skip off merrily."

Kagome tugged her hair. "Urrg! You're being _impossible_! I didn't say that that was going to happen, but it's not fair that Kikyou should die when she's so frickin' young, don't'cha think?"

Inuyasha swallowed his retort and let out a long breath to calm himself. "Just listen to me for a second, will you? And no interruptions until I'm done." He nodded when she snapped her mouth shut, teeth making a small_ click_-ing noise, and went on: "As I was trying to say before you so kindly butted in. After the mating process, the two souls of the demons or what-have-you are combined.

"That means they're untied into one thing. However, if the two souls combined weren't made to complete each other, then they'll try and break away from each other. The mating ceremony will try and prevent that, however. The seal placed on the two souls will forcefully keep them together. Eventually, one of two things happens. Either the souls do manage to break apart but shred in the process – which is very painful I've been told – and the host of the two souls dies or the soul's rebellion spreads through the body and the body will slowly shut down. Both result in death."

Kagome digested that for a minute before hopefully asking, "Isn't there any way to do anything? Can't you sever the seal or. . . or _something_? Is Kikyou really going to die because of something so. . . so simple?"

Inuyasha gave her a hard look for calling the mating process 'simple,' but answered nevertheless. "Her fate was sealed the moment she mated with MenouMaru."

Kagome sighed miserably and looked down at the floor, her hope slowly fading. "Why?" Her fists clenched. "Why, dammit, why? Why would she do something so- - -Just why?"

He grimaced. "I really, really don't know anymore, Kagome. Everything's just. . . falling apart."

Without saying anything, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck and brushed her lips against his for barely a second before resting her cheek on his chest. "Everything _is_ falling apart and we're right in the middle of it," she murmured against the material of his dark red shirt then sighed. "But when everything falls down, there's always time to rebuild."

"Keh, you make it sound so easy, wench. There's more to it than that. It doesn't just reappear, ya know."

Kagome sighed softly. "No, it's not going to just magically flip up into place and un-crumble just like that. It's going to take time and it's going to take blood, sweat, and tears. _Everything _comes with blood, sweat, and tears. Nothing in life comes without a cost."

"Bleh. Now _you_ sound like a psychiatrist, wench." Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought.

Kagome leaned back to look up at him and playfully scowled. "Oh, just shut-up. You're supposed to go 'Oh gee, Kagome, how right you are! Thank-you for enlightening me! What can I do to repay you!' "

"Do you want to know what I'm going to do to repay you?" Inuyasha smirked down at her and she almost took a nervous step back. He dipped his head down and pressed his lips against hers. She jerked in surprise. Then she melted into it and replied eagerly. Their mouths moved against each other in a dance to some rhythm that couldn't be heard by anyone else but them. She opened her mouth immediately when he nibbled on her bottom lip. His tongue slipped between her lips and entered her mouth, mapping out every part of her sweet cavern – gums, teeth, palate. . .

She titled her head and scraped her teeth along Inuyasha's bottom lip, hoping to get some sort of reaction. He moaned throatily and raised his hand to place on the back of her neck- - -

"Ewwwww! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! Mommy – ewww!"

Both Kagome and Inuyasha jerked back and looked over to see a little boy – probably no older than seven – whimpering pathetically and covering his eyes. Kagome colored and shoved against Inuyasha's chest to put more distance between them like that would erase what the boy witnessed. Inuyasha snorted and gave Kagome a moody look – he wasn't done kissing, dammit.

Kagome opened her mouth to offer comfort to the little boy. He yelped and whirled before sprinting down the hall, still whimpering and calling for parental support.

After a pause, she turned and whapped Inuyasha's arm with the back of her hand.

"Ow! Geez, wench, what did I do?" He rubbed the abused appendage and cast her a disgruntled look.

Kagome huffed, crossed her arms, and looked away childishly. "You are _not_ allowed to scar little children for life, do you hear?"

Inuyasha laughed and shook his head. "You sure do have a way of allowing me to forget my woes," he murmured.

"Hm?" she hummed in confusion. His golden eyes drifted away from her and she raised a brow in curiosity. She poked him experimentally. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He sighed heavily. "I have to go and talk to Kikyou."

Kagome grew serious. "She might be unconscious, Inuyasha."

"I know."

She nodded. "Alright then. Off you go."

"Eh?" He looked over at her, befuddled. Her blunt remark threw him for a loop, most definitely. "What?"

She stuck out her tongue playfully. "Well, you better get going or else she'll fall asleep for real and then you'll miss your chance, won't you?"

"Yeah," he agreed before his expression changed to thoughtful.

"What? What's wrong now?"

He grinned and titled his head, causing a few stray, silvery tendrils of his bangs to tumble over his left eye. "Come with me."

"You look like a shaggy dog right now," Kagome pointed out, smiling jovially.

Inuyasha rolled his golden eyes and Kagome resisted the urge to snicker when another lock slipped down from the force of gravity and completely hid Inuyasha's left eye from view.

"Come with me?" he repeated.

Kagome's giggles faded and she stared solemnly at Inuyasha's covered eye. "Don't you think that maybe you should go alone? I think Kikyou would rather rip her hair our strand by strand than be in the same room as me right now."

Inuyasha blinked and the action made the hair over his covered eye to twitch, which in turn caused Kagome to grin to herself. "And what would make you say something like that?" he softly inquired.

"Think about it, would you?" Kagome replied, lifting a brow at him. "I'm going out with the person she loves, she probably thinks that I'm taking her place and shoving her away from everything she knew to be her reality, and to top it all off, I _eerily _resemble her, don't'cha think? Anyone would be bound to hate me." She sighed and leaned back against the clean, pristine-white walls in exhaustion.

Inuyasha remained silent for a moment and then said, "Then just walk me to her room."

Kagome snorted and pushed herself away from the wall to give a mock curtsey with an invisible skirt and offering her arm, batting her eyelashes dramatically. "Oh, Inuyasha, please lead the _waaaay_!" she said in a sing-song voice that made Inuyasha scowl – despite the fact that he accepted her arm without even thinking about it.

"Geez, you're annoying, wench," he grumbled as he tugged on her arm to get them going.

"I feel like Mary Poppins with that chimney-cleaner-dude! Oh, what was his name?" She drifted off and scowled in thought.

Inuyasha closed his eyes at her antics. "Kagome. . ." he said warningly.

Kagome wrinkled her nose at him. "No, no. That's _my _name. I can't remember _his _name."

"Kagome," Inuyasha said again in a near-groan, exasperated.

Kagome turned and scowled at him. "Gee, for someone being a demon prodigy, you sure are slow with the up-take. Let me say this _slowly_: that's my name. I can't remember _his_ – oh, wait. It's Bert. Never-mind, I remembered. We're all good." She looked forward, her scowl transforming into a smile, and continued to walk with a pep in her step.

Inuyasha, exasperated, closed his eyes and slowly started to count to ten. Kagome, ever the observant one, cocked her head to get a better look at his fact and asked, "What'cha doin'?"

"Counting to ten."

"Eh? Really? Why?"

"It helps to control anger and frustration, I hear."

"Oh, really? Does it work for you by any chance?"

He ground his teeth. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Well, what number are you on now?"

"Seven."

"How about now?"

"Eight."

"And now?"

"Nine."

"Ooo! So you're on ten now?"

"Sadly, yes." He opened his eyes and saw her peer at him with excitement.

"And did it work?" she asked.

"Sadly, no."

They stopped in front of Kikyou's hospital room and Kagome slipped her arm out of Inuyasha's. She walked to stand in front of the glass window that allowed visitors to see in and was surprised to see Izayoi standing by Kikyou's bedside, leaning down, whispering something to the dying girl.

Dying.

Kikyou was dying. And for some reason, the irked Kagome even though she didn't really knew much about the other woman. All she knew about Kikyou she had heard through Inuyasha and from what she had seen thus far, it didn't seem like Kikyou was all too fond of her.

She turned to look questioningly at Inuyasha who was at the door by that point, preparing to go inside. "Did you know your mother's in there?"

He glanced over at her before replying. "My mother is really sympathetic. She'd visit Hitler if he was ever hospitalized and even bring a dozen roses to cheer up his day, maybe even a story to read if she really got into it."

Kagome grinned brightly. "Wow, what a mom."

Inuyasha "keh'ed" and glanced at her again and took a deep breath. His ears flicked downwards in a tilt that showed he was obviously distressed about something. Personally, Kagome found that adorable.

"What's wrong?"

His golden eyes flicked over to her and eyes right ear twitched – Kagome had to swallow the urge to go _awwwwww_ and fondle the appendage. "Be there when I come out?" He meant for it to be a request, but it came out a question.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You sure know how to be a man, I must say."

Inuyasha sent her a sour, pouty look, crossing his arms as his ears drooped even more. He grumbled something and Kagome laughed.

"I'm joking, Inuyasha. You just looked way too cute for me to resist teasing you. Of course I'll stick around until after you talk to her. Unless you want me to go off on vacation into the bathroom to redo my make-up?"

He looked her over one more time suspiciously before sighing and turning his attention back to the door, grumbling, "You better not."

Kagome watched him go in through the glass window. When he opened the door, Izayoi looked over at him as he approached and softly spoke to him. As the mother and son had their conversation, her eyes wandered around the room. Like a moth to a flame, her gaze almost automatically flicked over to the small monitor that daintily hung down from the metal stand that also held a bag of blood and IV. A thin green line sharply jumped up on the screen of the monitor before falling back down and staying almost still for a moment before doing another sharp jump and drawing a few more jagged, crag-like lines. She could faintly hear the rhythmic noise that the device emitted –

_Beep. . . Beep. . . Beep. . . Beep. . . Beep. . ._

Kikyou's heart monitor – the thing that kept a record of her life. When Kikyou's heart finally shuddered and went lax, the monitor would wail its mechanical lungs out, screeching without stop. Kagome, more than anything in the world, hated that noise.

Izayoi leaned forward to place a quick peck on her son's forehead and continued out of the room. Kagome's attention shifted from the jumping green line to Inuyasha's mother.

"How is she?" Kagome found herself murmuring as Izayoi silently closed the door behind her.

The older woman closed her eyes wearily. "She's conscious. Barely. At least, for now."

Kagome's expression turned glum as she peered into the room again. In the white, pristine room, Inuyasha hesitantly brushed a stray piece of hair away from Kikyou's eyes before jerking back quickly.

"Where is everyone?" Kagome asked curiously, forcing her gaze away from the room to look behind her. "I thought they all came with us."

"They did," Izayoi assured. "Inutaisho received several calls and so he decided to momentarily step out to take care of things."

"Oh," was all Kagome could say before continuing. "Then where's Fluffy-kins?"

When she received no immediate answer, she thought she had either said something wrong or something had happened with Kikyou. Panicked, Kagome's brilliant blue eyes darted back to the window only to see that all was as it should be. Frowning slightly, she then switched her gaze to Izayoi.

"Fluffy-kins?" the older woman repeated, eyes narrowing in a squint of confusion. "Who are we talking about here?"

Kagome's cheeks flushed and she quietly cleared her throat. "Oh, uh. Well. About that. Your son?"

"Sesshoumaru?" Izayoi hesitantly clarified.

Kagome nodded awkwardly before blurting, "I swear I didn't come up with that name! Rin called him that first!"

Izayoi chuckled softly, shaking her head. "It's okay. I think it's quite. . . humorous, actually. Although I'm not sure how Inutaisho will react to such a nickname," she mused to herself.

"But seriously, where is everybody?" Kagome continued. "I've only seen you and Inuyasha so far. Did everyone else just up and run off?"

Izayoi frowned. "Actually, Sesshoumaru and Inutaisho went out to get MenouMaru."

"Eh?" Kagome blinked in surprise. "Is there something wrong with – oh." She glanced over at Kikyou before murmuring, "Is he sick, too, then?"

The older woman's expression turned grim. "He called Inutaisho not too long ago. Apparently, something's wrong with his legs. He sat down a while ago and hasn't been able to stand back up. He said it was like his whole body is going numb, starting with his toes." She closed her eyes and let out a small, weary sigh. "It seems that everything's coming to a close."

Kagome hesitated, unsure if she wanted an answer to that statement, before finally asking – against her better judgment: "What do you mean?"

Izayoi opened her eyes and steeled herself. "When the more dominant mate – in most cases the male, and in this case MenouMaru – pass on, the submissive partner immediately follows. So even if Kikyou had twenty four hours to live, if MenouMaru died in the next five minutes, not ten seconds after his passing, Kikyou would also die."

Kagome's shoulders slumped as she stared at the wall beside them. "So then there really _isn't_ any hope for them."

Inuyasha's mother placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "You're a sweet girl," she said softly. "I can very honestly say that I'm glad Inuyasha finally found you. And I can also say that I'm going to enjoy having you as a daughter-in-law."

Warmth tickled Kagome's cheeks in the form of a blush. "I have to say, despite all of this happening, I'm also glad I met Inuyasha," she admitted.

And just like that, like a flashlight coming to life to bring illumination to a dark room, Kagome just _knew_ that if Inuyasha, indeed, proposed for taking their weird relationship to the nest step, she wouldn't decline. She'd probably squeal and then fight to decide whether to glomp him first or kiss him senseless. But both options sounded good.

A gentle smile tugged at Izayoi's features and her eyes softened. "I know," was all she said in reply.

Silence fell over the two. They both stood watching Inuyasha interact with his childhood friend. After a few moments, Kagome's eyes drifted back to the heart monitor with its jagged-up-down-crag-mountain lines. The same faint beeping swirled around the area, mixing with the smell of antiseptic and chemicals, making her wrinkle her nose.

She really hated hospitals.

That was a surprise to most people seeing as she was a nurse. But she much rather liked working away from the smells, the sounds, and the horror of a hospital – _especially_ an ER. Watching someone walk in with an arm dangling with only a string of skin keeping it attached to the person was not exactly the highlight of anyone's day, and it didn't help that she was slightly queasy when it came to blood and other bodily fluids that were never supposed to be seen.

So maybe becoming a nurse hadn't been the smartest thing. She seriously still would've liked to be an author – although her writing skills weren't anything to brag about at that point, so she wasn't sure how plausible a writing career would've been.

A musical jingling-jangling broke Kagome from her thoughts and still slightly dazed she shifted her attention to Izayoi who was pulling out a small, dark pink phone – the device that was the source of all the racket. Izayoi looked over at Kagome apologetically and she shook her head, telling the older woman she didn't mind.

"Hello?"

Not wanting to appear rude, Kagome looked back through the glass at Inuyasha. He looked like he was almost done visiting Kikyou. Kagome watched as he gently flicked her forehead playfully. She had to forcefully fight back a round of jealousy, angry at herself for feeling envy in the first place. She grit her teeth, frustrated when the small flicker of emotion didn't leave but instead coiled around her gut stubbornly.

'_Stop it,_' she firmly told herself. Kikyou and Inuyasha were childhood friends. It would be wrong if there wasn't affection between them –

'_But Kikyou feels a little more than just petty affection_,' a small voice reminded her in the back of her mind. She immediately gunned down said voice and stoned it.

"What do you mean?" Kagome started at the tinge of panic that Izayoi tried to hide in her voice.

"What's that supposed to _mean_?" the older woman repeated after a moment, her calm façade fading more and more with every second.

Seeing the gentle, naturally serene woman look jumpy caused a cold stone of raw fear to drop in Kagome's gut and her breath to hitch as her throat tightened. For some reason, Izayoi's earlier spoken words tumbled back through her mind unbidden: _"It seems that everything's coming to a close."_

"Oh. . . Oh, god," Izayoi murmured as she closed the phone and lifted a hand to cover her face miserably.

"What's wrong?" Kagome managed to croak around the ache in her throat.

Izayoi waited a moment, composing herself, and when she spoke, Kagome appreciated the effort that she took to sound calm and confident. She wasn't sure how she'd feel if Izayoi's voice had trembled when she said, "That was Inutaisho. They found MenouMaru. And he's dying."

"We know he's dying," Kagome slowly repeated. "Hence the whole reason why we're in this predicament right now."

"No," the other said quietly. "He's _dying_. They're in an ambulance right now and no one thinks he'll survive the five minute journey from where they are to the hospital."

The raven nurse's eyes widened before slowly drifting over to Inuyasha and softening. "He's going to get upset at that," she whispered more to herself than anyone else.

"Get him out of there," Izayoi automatically said.

Confused, Kagome cast Inuyasha's mother a look. "Excuse me?"

"Get him out of there," she repeated firmly. "No one wants to be there when their best friend dies, no matter how close they are. Either get him out of there or go in with him."

Kagome hesitated before shaking her head. "I can't go in there – it's not my place – and I think he's about done anyway."

Izayoi remained silent for a minute before nodding and turned to walk away. "I trust your judgment. Take care of him and thanks for everything," she gently called back as she continued out of sight.

Before she could stop it, her jaw opened in a yawn as exhaustion caught up with her – both mentally and physically. She leaned her forehead against the cool glass and waited for Inuyasha. Indeed, it looked like he was done visiting at the moment. He spoke softly to Kikyou for a few seconds. She looked like she was struggling to sit up and Inuyasha placed a hand on her chest, right above her collar bone, to gently push her back done. A few more words were exchanged and then the bubble of jealousy that Kagome felt returned full force – and she once again felt mad at herself for her envy – when Inuyasha leaned down and gave Kikyou a small hug.

With that, he started for the exit.

"Hey," he greeted as he slowly shut the door. "Glad to see you didn't bail on me in favor of eyeliner and lipstick."

Shoving her jealousy away forcefully, Kagome couldn't help but smile at him. "I actually had a nice conversation with your mother," she informed him.

Horror briefly flashed through his eyes. "She didn't happen to have her wallet on her, did she?"

"M_aaaaay_be," Kagome coyly replied.

Inuyasha's eyes darted nervously to gauge for any tell-tale signs of her fib. "Did she. . . show you that damn picture?"

"Which one?"

"Alright, wench, did you really see it?" His voice was on the verge of desperation. "I _told _her to get rid of it, I swear. But for some reason, she just seems to love to torment me with- - -"

Kagome laughed softly. "No worries, Inuyasha. She didn't show me anything. I'm just messin' with you."

Relief flooded his expression followed by annoyance. "You could've just said that to begin with," he grumbled, crossing his arms in a pout.

She laughed again and cut herself off abruptly.

Inuyasha looked at her, alarmed. "What is it?"

"MenouMaru. . ." she hesitantly began, remembering Izayoi's words.

Inuyasha tensed and looked at her, misery burning in the back of his eyes. "What's wrong? Tell me? Please?"

Reluctantly, she relayed all the she had learned in the last ten minutes to him and carefully scrutinized him for his reaction. Nervous butterflies skimmed around in her stomach when he just looked in at Kikyou with an unreadable expression.

"So she has even less time than I thought," he mumbled dejectedly and for a split second, Kagome thought she was going to cry. Seeing Inuyasha feel so awful made her feel the exact same way. It ached to see him look so down.

She wrapped her arms around his torso, relishing in the feel of the warmth of his skin. Standing so close to him with her ear pressed against his chest, she could hear his heart beating and feel his pulse under her cheek. Inuyasha also wrapped his arms around her, sighing in a mixture of sadness and exhaustion, and almost condescendingly, she thought, '_I bet he never hugged Kikyou like this._'

She once again felt bad and winced at her bitterness towards the woman. Kagome had never really had a jealous streak, but when it came to Inuyasha –

"I love you," she murmured against the material of his shirt, and let out a blissful breath through her nose at how comfortable she felt and –

And she had said that out loud.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard his heart skip a beat and she realized that she had spoken out loud. She tensed, panic settling in, and gently pushed away from him. Inuyasha's grip on her only tightened and her panic only grew. Was he mad at her?

"Mind repeating what you just said?" His breath was hot against her ear and it caused a wave of embarrassed red to creep up her neck.

"You didn't hear me?" she asked, hope fluttering around in her stomach and mixing with the queasy fear she had felt before.

"Oh, I heard you," he answered softly. Her stomach did a flip-flop and she nervously started to struggle against his hold, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

Her struggling abruptly ended when a pair of soft lips brushed up against hers gently, just for a second. Scared, slightly befuddled, but hopeful again, she looked up to lock eyes with Inuyasha when he pulled away. His amber gaze was suddenly hypnotizing and she found herself trembling against his hold like a weak kitten, suddenly very intimidated by his presence.

"I heard you," he repeated, his smoldering eyes never once leaving hers. "I just wished you would've said it louder." He leaned over and slowly bridged the gap between them more and more with every passing second. "Because I'd scream my love for you if you wanted me too," he finished, his warm breath fanning against her lips. He didn't press their mouths together in a kiss though, but instead allowed the words to sink in.

Kagome swallowed and felt her own heart skip several beats as it temporarily forgot how to work properly. "You don't need to scream it," she mumbled, her voice coming out hoarser than she would've liked. "Just saying it would make me happy."

Inuyasha was only too happy to oblige and kissed her temple before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I love you as well, Kagome."

And like a curse sent in to ruin their moment, a loud, wailing, screaming rose up. It was never-ending and in her drunken stupor, it took Kagome a few minutes to realize what the sound was.

It was the heart monitor that was attached to Kikyou in the room behind them, screeching its never-exhausting mechanical lungs out to alert the world that Kikyou's heart had stopped beating.

00000000

… **That was dramatic. That was corny. That was cliché. That was crappy. –rubs eyes- And I'm sorry if you hated it. (This is turning into quite the soap-opera, I have to say.) Updates might be slow (this is almost finished). I have some things to juggle in my life right now like a job (at the wonderful frickin' world of McDonalds…), a boyfriend, summer projects, and my social life.**

**Yeah… it sucks. Anyhoo.**

**Review!**

**Ja ne!**


	41. The Dead will Walk

Disclaimer: Dude, I was begging for some scraps from my friends the other day at school so I could eat lunch, which means I can't even afford the three-fifty for a decent meal. Do you honestly think I would own it?

A/N: Fuck, life can really suck.

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Forty-One: The Dead will Walk

00000000

It was the heart monitor that was attached to Kikyou in the room behind them, screeching its never-exhausting mechanical lungs out to alert the world that Kikyou's heart had stopped beating.

00000000

The average temperature of a human body was 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, 37 degrees Celsius, or 310.15 Kelvin. The warmth of blood kept human flesh warm and stabilized that body temperature.

As Kagome's hand clutched desperately onto the ice-cold fingers of a dead woman, she felt a queasy, unpleasant sensation flood her senses. Inuyasha had been just about flown down the hall to kidnap a doctor and drag him back – whether he be kicking and screaming or not. While Kagome had never really known Kikyou in person, or had the chance to get to know her, Kagome felt the hot prickle of angry tears at her eyes. She was mostly angry at MenouMaru for forcing Kikyou into the predicament, but she was also angry at herself.

She knew that if she had been in Kikyou's predicament, she probably would've done the same thing.

That epiphany-of-a-sort both scared her and left her breathless with exhilaration. Kagome had always daydreamed about falling in love – finding a Prince Charming, falling desperately in love, marrying that Prince Charming complete with a stereotypical wedding. . . But she had never actually ever _fallen_ in love before. Small crushes, there were plenty. Attractions, there were countless instances of those.

But what she felt with Inuyasha was so different in so many ways, it almost seemed wrong.

Was it wrong?

Kagome's grip on Kikyou's hand tightened both at her thoughts and due to impatience. At least three minutes had passed since Kikyou's heart had given out and still there was no sign of a doctor. She scowled at the doorway thinking, '_Some service they have here_,' before standing up, releasing Kikyou's hand in the process. She was just about to do a routine assessment – check Kikyou's eyes, pulse (ignoring the fact that the heart monitor was screaming at her – quite literally – that the woman was dead), throat glands, etc. – when a small parade of medics jogged into the room.

Almost feeling like a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar to snitch a delicious treat before dinner, Kagome slowly backed away from the bedside table. The medics went straight to work without even sparing her a glance. Several moments passed in silence and Kagome couldn't help but feel that she was being almost. . . ignored.

She watched as the medic team busied themselves with random tasks around the room. However, soon enough her eyes were drawn back to Kikyou's face like a moth to a flame. Kikyou's pallid face was lax with death and for some reason, the realization that the woman was dead slammed into Kagome with more force than she would've expected. She stumbled forward a step and stopped herself from advancing any further towards the bed.

One of the medics started fiddling with the wires and needles in the underside of Kikyou's wrist and, startled, Kagome cried out and hurried over to stop the nurse. "Wait, no, stop! You don't know if she's really dead!"

Kagome snatched Kikyou's arm away from the nurse who raised an eyebrow and pointedly looked over at the heart monitor that no one had bothered to turn off. Kagome shook her head stubbornly, idly noticing the way the skin of Kikyou's arm almost seemed to burn and tingle under her fingers. "She hasn't been dead that long. It's possible to revive her!"

The nurse sighed. "In a case like this one, there is no hope for restoration. She's gone. Her body gave out and her heart stopped. There's absolutely nothing we can do."

Kagome tightened her hold on Kikyou and the tingling sensation under her finger tips grew stronger with each passing second. "Why can't you try?" she demanded hotly. "Is there anything wrong with trying?"

The nurse looked helplessly over at her co-workers for help but they just shrugged before turning their attention back to their work. The woman set her lips grimly and focused on Kagome.

"Ma'am, the young Miss Kikyou has died. Due to the circumstances, there is a zero percent chance of reviving her. It would be a waste of equipment and time to- - -"

Kagome's fingers jerked when a small electrifying jolt of current passed between her and Kikyou. "There has to be something you can do," she persisted. "There's always something you can try."

The nurse looked like she was going out of her way for patience at this point. "I don't think you understand. In cases like this, the soul is. No. Longer. Present. If there's no soul to animate the body- - -"

"What's your name?"

The brunette woman paused her explanation to eye Kagome. "It's Kagura," she said almost reluctantly.

"Do you have a sister? Or an aunt?" the miko continued softly.

Kagura's eyes narrowed. "I have a sister named Kanna," she replied suspiciously.

"And how far would you go for Kanna?"

Kagura sighed, lifting a hand to massage her forehead. "I see where you're coming from, but I'm _telling _you- - -"

"Would you try?" Kagome persisted. "Even if it was zero percent chance of success?"

The brunette woman looked at her for a long second and then heaved an exasperated and long-suffering sigh. "Fine," she relented. "Fine, fine, _fine_. I'll see what I can do."

Kagome smiled brightly. "Thank you so much."

Kagura waved away the thanks in annoyance and snatched the printed heart rate sheet and briefly examined it. "Her heart beating pattern was completely normal until the exact second of her death," the brunette nurse noted aloud. She then pushed open one of Kikyou's closed eyelids. "Her pupils are still dilated," Kagura continued. Kagome took several steps back as to be out of the way as Kagura worked.

After rattling off a few more random notes, Kagura leaned over Kikyou to examine her throat. "I really think it's hopeless," she muttered as she ran her fingers along the skin above Kikyou's trachea. Kagome set her jaw stubbornly and prepared another defensive comment and jerked when the screaming heart monitor abruptly stopped and a new noise came from the machine.

___Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep_.

And so abruptly that Kagome didn't see the motion, Kikyou whipped up into a sitting position on her bed. Her forehead connected with Kagura's and the nurse yelped and stumbled backward, holding her head. Kagome froze, too shocked to do much of anything. Kikyou continued to sit on the bed, eyes incredibly wide.

And then she fell back on the mattress and the frantically jumping green line fell flat as the heart machine started to scream again.

Kagome's breath came out shallowly as she stared at the – dead? – body of Kikyou. It had been a extremely freaky, she had to admit, to see what had been believed to be a corpse rise up in bed like that. Almost like a vampire from a novel- - -Kagome shook her head at herself. There were demons in this world, not vampires. She had to get her facts straight.

Kagura raced over to Kikyou's side once her head stopped throbbing to check over her vitals and such. Kagome watched, still frozen. Kagura's hands felt three different places for any sign of a pulse before she frowned and started to re-do the routine she had done before.

Kagura had just pushed up Kikyou's eyelid when the heart monitor stopped screaming again- - -

_____Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep_.

- - -and Kikyou whipped up in her bed again, her forehead once again connecting with Kagura's with a _crack_! that had Kagome wincing. Kagura cried out and once again took a step back. Kikyou didn't show any reaction to any sort of pain, though. Kagura groped around for a few seconds to find the 'call help' button and pressed it.

Kagome jerked forward- - -

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

- - -and stopped when she heard the low, droning note. Kikyou flumped back lifelessly onto the mattress and Kagome turned to look at Kagura in confusion.

Kagura shook her head. "I have no idea what's going on, myself. I called for other medics. Maybe they'll know what's happening."

"Is she alive?" Kagome whispered, inching towards the hospital bed one step at a time.

"I told you already, I don't know," the brunette woman replied snippily.

Kagome took a hold of Kikyou's arm again, feeling the still-warm skin start to tingle and feel almost hot beneath her fingers. She closed her eyes in exhaustion and found that the tingling sensation grew more prominent. It didn't necessarily hurt and so Kagome decided there was no harm in not stopping it. Absently, she heard Kagura murmuring to someone but she didn't pay attention to what was said.

Kikyou's skin was growing warmer.

Kagome swallowed as skin in her grip continued to heat up. She wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen or what she was doing – if she was doing anything, at all – but she still felt like she was being beneficial.

Until a powerful jolt of something shocked her like electricity.

She yelped, her eyes snapping open, and jerked her hand away. She cradled her hand to her chest, staring in awe at Kikyou's arm where she had touched it. It was glowing. Or rather, it _looked_ like it was glowing, that was for sure. But lately it seemed that Kagome might be going a little "woo hoo" and maybe hallucinating.

"Kagura, what's the commotion about?"

Kagome turned and saw a young man talking with Kagura. Automatically, her eyes focused on his long black hair – was that some sort of hot new fashion? Every guy she had met lately had incredibly long hair – that was pulled back in a thick braid.

Kagura looked incredibly relieved. "Hiten, it's the patient. She's. . . well, she's rising from the dead."

The doctor stood completely still and just stared at Kagura for a few moments before calmly flipping the long braid of his hair over his shoulder. His gaze flicked over to Kagome and then back to Kagura. "I'm sorry, ladies," he finally spoke, "but I'm not an idiot. What the hell do you _mean_ 'she's rising from the dead'?"

"Her heart stopped for at least four minutes and suddenly it started beating again and she sat up. She had been up barely five seconds before her heart failed again," Kagura explained not-so patiently.

"It's normal for the heart to take several moments to fully stop in a circumstance like this- - -"

"It happened twice," Kagome cut in.

Hiten looked over at her and smiled apologetically. "Like I said, miss, it might take a little while for the heart to- - -"

"Would you at least just _check _to see what's going on?" Kagome hotly asked. "You're a doctor for sanity's sake! You should at least _pretend _to care about your patients."

Hiten's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you would like to mind your words. I do care about all of my patients and I do my best to help them in any way possible. But in a case like this- - -"

"I'm just asking that you try," Kagome said. "There's nothing wrong with _trying_, is there?"

Hiten rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Kagura. "She's quite the persuasive talker, isn't she?"

Kagura's right brow rose in a delicate arch. "Yes, she suckered me in with a speech just like that one."

Hiten grumbled something to himself to fast for Kagome to pick up but he started towards the bed. A bright grin played with her lips as she waited for him to do the exact same routine check that Kagura had been doing earlier. She sighed and reached out to take Kikyou's hand again – while idly wondering if she was perhaps obsessed with touching dying people – but the exact moment that her skin brushed the cool, pallid arm on the mattress- - -

_____Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep_.

- - -the heart monitor started up again. Kagome jerked away like she had been burned. Kikyou whipped up again. And this time, her forehead connected with the surprised doctor Hiten's, who yipped in surprise and barely kept himself from jumping back.

"Nurse!" Hiten called once he had come out of his shock. "Or anyone, get over here!"

Kagome's heart leapt in her throat. She held her breath as she listened to the chaos around her. She bit her lip and looked over at the screen for the heart monitor. The green line jumped up and down frantically on it. Mentally, she counted the seconds off. Kikyou hadn't seemed to stay "alive" for more than ten seconds at a time.

So she started counting. '_One, two. . ._'

"Someone get the respirator going- - -"

'_Three, four. . ._'

"No, no! We can't shock her, it'll stop her heart again- - -"

'_Five, six. . ._'

"Get me hot water! We need to get her blood circulating properly or- - -"

'_Seven, eight. . ._'

"_Shit_! What the hell is wrong? Motherfu- - -"

'_Nine, ten. . ._'

"She's not _breathing_! Why isn't she breathing, dammit?"

Kagome grimly stepped over to the now-busy hospital bed, mentally preparing herself for when Kikyou would fall back again, lifeless. She gripped the bed rail hard enough that her knuckles turned white. Something warm and wet spilled down her face but she wasn't even aware she was crying.

Hiten's hands were fervently working on injecting some liquid into one of Kikyou's veins. His eyes flicked up to Kagome for a brief moment before he spoke. "Miss, you either need to _help_ with something or back away. She's very unstable and if you want her to make it- - -"

Kagome tuned out the rest of what he was saying and indifferently asked, "What can I do?"

"Hold her hand."

She turned only to see Kagura standing next to her, looking at her sternly.

"Whah?"

"Hold her hand," the brunette repeated. "It'll be a huge comfort for when she comes around. I also read the people who are unconscious can feel stuff like that and the fact that someone cares helps them wake up. So hold her hand."

At this point in time, she wasn't sure if something like that would even work anymore, but Kagome looked down at Kikyou's hand and sighed. Then she reached out and took it between her own.

Kikyou's mouth opened and she loudly sucked in as much air as she could before choking on it and having a coughing fit. Kagome held her breath, momentarily pausing to merely listen and take everything in. Hiten ordered someone to get whoever else was there for Kikyou and then refilled the IV. Nurses mumbled to one another and bustled around. And- - -

_Beep. . . beep. . . beep. . . beep. . ._

- - -Kikyou's heart beat steadied.

"Is she going to be okay?" Kagome asked breathlessly to no one in particular. For some reason, she was getting light-headed and it was almost getting hard to breathe.

At first, Kagome wasn't sure if the voice that had answered had said "yes," or "rest." (However, since she knew from experience that the proper response when asked a medical question was not to whip around and bark "rest," she gave an educated guess and assumed that the nurse had said "yes.")

"That's good," she breathed so quietly that she wasn't sure if anyone had heard. She wasn't even sure if anyone was around to hear her anymore, even. Little fuzzy black specks were starting to flood her vision. Her muscles felt incredibly light-weight and yet hard to move all at the same time, almost like she had no reflexes.

'_I wonder if this is what it's like to die,_' she wondered to herself, almost amused at the prospect of it. She had barely enough time to think that before her muscles started weakening. Her knees wobbled and she swayed for a second before her legs gave. The floor suddenly came rushing up at her face at an alarming rate.

And then she saw black.

000000000

At first she thought he was an angel of some sort. He sure _looked_ like an angel, anyway. His golden eyes seemed almost unearthly as the light from the lamp next to her head caused them to almost _glow_.

"Whuh happ'm'd?" Kagome mumbled as she pushed herself up with her arms.

"Lay back down," her person-mistaken-for-an-angel commanded, gently forcing her on her back again.

"Whuh happ'm'd?" Kagome repeated, voice still slurring as her brain reawakened after her – long? – nap. Her mind jumbled into a huge tangle and she tried to sew all of her thoughts together to figure out what had transpired after she had oh-so gracefully passed out.

"Shh," Inuyasha hushed. "You hit your head when you fell. You don't have a concussion, but if you irritate your head, you _could_ get one. So please just be still for the moment?"

"But what about Kikyou?" the miko inquired persistently.

Inuyasha sighed and kneeled so that his face was level with hers. "She's fine. Now _please_, Kagome, I'm begging you – lie down and rest some more?"

Kagome huffed indignantly at him, puffing her cheeks out childishly, causing Inuyasha to chuckle. (She would later deny doing anything of the sort.)

"I want to know what happened with MenouMaru." She puffed out her bottom lip to give herself an innocent _I'm-an-innocent-lamb-so-help-me-out-here-you-doofus_ look.

Inuyasha's hand wandered under the thin, pristine white blanket to search out her hand and interlace their fingers. "Nothing much," he murmured. "He. . . was definitely dead when he came in. For a while, I stayed near the doctor that had examined him. His death certificate was signed."

For some reason, that irked Kagome. "Did you see it being signed?" she asked gently, her eyes wandered around for some sort of blemish in the perfectly painted ceiling (or even a small crack for all she cared). It bugged her to no end that she couldn't find any. A place for death wasn't supposed to be perfect like that.

"Mm," he hummed, fingers momentarily tightening around her own.

Kagome had to admit that she was _completely_ disgusted at how things had turned up. She was out-and-out extremely displeased with how the whole mate-for-life thing worked (despite the first-impression glamour that the idea held). She was starting to curl her nose at the whole concept of demon rituals and customs. And, most of all, she absolutely _loathed_ the ceiling for being so perfect in their time of absolute and utter chaos and distress.

She pulled their tangled hands up to her face and pressed the warm flesh of his knuckles to her cheek. "Sleep with me?" she whispered.

Inuyasha very well almost fell over backwards when he jerked in surprise and let out a startled yelp. "Kagome," he said (nearly squeaked) sternly, "as much as I would love to do something like. . . like _that_ with you, I hardly think that now it appropriate."

"I meant literally, you idiot."

It took a moment for Inuyasha to realize what she was saying. To help him along with the thought process, Kagome lifted her blanket and patted the flat mattress in front of her.

"Um, oh?" A fine pink dust settled on his cheeks but he complied with her wishes and laid down on the bed next to her. "I don't think there's enough room, wench," he complained as he continually shifted to try and make it that he wasn't half-dangling off the side of the mattress.

"Then I'll make room," she mumbled, suddenly realized just how tired she was. Kagome rolled over and moved to the edge of the bed on the other side. Inuyasha scooted over and Kagome felt his chest press flush up against her back. His arm wrapped around her and pushed her even closer to her.

Her heart skipped a beat and a red flush warmed her neck and cheeks. Inuyasha chuckled, laying his cool cheek against her hot one. "Your cheeks – so rosy!" he teased lightly.

Had her eyes been open, Kagome would've glared at the wall. "Shu'mup. I'm try'na s'eep, you id'it."

Inuyasha merely chuckled again – much to Kagome's chagrin – and murmured in her ear, "Well, guess what?"

"_S'eep_!" Kagome whined, trying to ignore him. "Wanna _s'eep_, In'yasha – _s'eep!_"

Inuyasha huffed in mock contempt. "Then I guess you don't want to hear what I was going to say. . ." he murmured, lips brushing against her sensitive cheeks.

She whined, sounding much like a kicked puppy. "Tell later – s'eep now."

"I just wanted to tell you that- - -"

"_S'eep!_"

"- - -this 'id'it' sure loves the hell out of you."

"_S'EE- - -!_"

Kagome mentally cursed, falling silent, when her heart skipped another two beats.

00000000

She had never had anything against the color maroon. Seriously, it was a nice color and she had even had a nice knitted top that was maroon and looked absolutely fabulous with a pair of dark blue jeans. Her best friend from High School had even debated getting maroon highlights in her hair in their junior year.

But that was before Kagome knew that it was possible to have so much maroon in _one room_. Everything was the ruddy red color from the floor to the ceiling. Every. Thing – the carpets, the paint on the walls, the upholstery, the bed clothes, the knick-knacks – hell, the _window_ was tinted maroon.

Kagome blinked slowly and rubbed her eyes, thinking that maybe something had just gone wrong with her corneas for a moment – the light hit her eyes wrong and everything had changed colors. But when she looked around again, she found that nothing had changed. So, apparently, whoever owned the room had a minor obsession with maroon.

"It's kinda creepy," she murmured as she sat up slowly.

"What is?"

Kagome 'eep'ed and whirled. "Inuyasha," she breathed, "don't _do_ that!" Inuyasha merely gave her an amused look and she harrumphed and rolled over so she wasn't looking at him.

"What's creepy?" he asked. When she didn't move to reply, he persisted, "Kagome, what's creepy?"

"What happened to Kikyou?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha sighed quietly at her abrupt (and obvious) change of subject but decided that it wasn't worth fighting over and humored her. "She's alive and in steady condition. But the doctors are definitely baffled as to why she's alive so she's under constant supervision." His golden eyes drifted away from her when he stopped speaking. His tone suggested that there was more he wanted to say and so Kagome looked over her shoulder at him.

"What?" she cautiously questioned. He didn't turn his attention back to her and she frowned at him. "What?" she asked again, her tone more demanding.

Inuyasha cleared his throat a little too loudly. "Well. . . the _doctors_ don't know why she's alive right now."

It took a while for that one to click in Kagome's mind. "But you do," she finally said slowly, unsure.

He nodded and sighed again before settling down beside her on the mattress. "Yeah," he admitted softly.

"Tell me?"

Inuyasha stared up at the ceiling for a while. Kagome rolled over so she was once again facing him, probing him with her eyes in the hopes that he would take her hint and blurt it out or something. Moments ticked by and Kagome felt her patience running thin. However, right before she was about to snap at him to get on with it- - -

"Do you know what a miko is?"

Kagome blinked slowly. "Miko?" she repeated. "As in a priestess? As in the women who used to take care of their villages in feudal times and all that jazz? That type of miko?"

Golden eyes flicked in her direction for a moment in a show of exasperation. "That's the only '_type_' of miko that there is, wench," he pointed out.

"Just wanted to make sure we're on the same page," she grumbled defensively.

"_Anyway_, yes. That '_type_' of miko." He placed a great deal of emphasis on the word _type_ and pointedly looked at Kagome. She stuck her tongue out to show how much his comment was appreciated.

He snorted before looking back up at the ceiling, tucking his arms under his head. "Well, miko still exist today. They don't just disappear since we developed modern medicine and all that. But instead. . ." He drifted off and frowned thoughtfully. "Sometimes miko never know what they are since their powers and abilities aren't necessary in this day and age. Their unique skills just lie dormant and aren't discovered. Sorta like a fossil buried deep into the ground under the ocean."

Kagome looked honestly surprised. "Dude, when did you get to be so good at making speeches?"

This time it was Inuyasha's turn to show how much he appreciated the comment – only he didn't stick his tongue out ('_How immature is _that_?_' his youkai inquired, sounding downright appalled), he just gave her a dry look. Kagome sighed theatrically and said, "Oh, fine. Continue on. I won't interrupt you anymore."

"Oh, gee, _thanks_," he muttered sarcastically but continued: "So, as I was. Some priestesses never know what they are. Some find out accidentally. Usually, more powerful and older demons can sense that type of thing, though."

" 'Kay," Kagome replied slowly in a 'where-the-_hell _-are-you-going-with-this?' tone. "And that has to do with me because. . .?"

"Are you kidding me? You're not that dense, Kagome. I'm telling you that you're a miko. Get it now?"

Kagome gave him a look that suggested some sort of long, hairy (and green) tentacle had popped out of the side of his head or something. "What?"

Inuyasha groaned quietly. "Why can't you ever just accept something and move on?"

"Because I've never had anyone tell me something like that before!" She lightly smacked his forearm with the back of her hand. "Now explain yourself."

"There's nothing _to_ explain. You. Are. A miko. It's as simple as that. There aren't any hidden meanings or secrets to it. You were just born with the powers of the divine."

Kagome stared unblinkingly at him. Her first thought after he said that had been: '_Goody-goody gumdrops! I have the power of the _divine_. Bow before the awesome Kagome!_' Her second thought had been: '_Oh, crap. I have the power of the divine. Does that make me some sort of freak?_' Her next thought was: '_Holy watermelon-llamas. I've got to be high off my rocker to be thinking like this._' And then the last thing to cross her mind was: '_So basically I'm the opposite of Inuyasha, then. So. . . doesn't that mean that I can, like, _hurt_ him or something?_'

It was that last thought that brought an expression of pure horror to her features.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha definitely sounded alarmed.

Shoving all of her thoughts – both legitimate and stupid – away, she forced herself to continue, "What does that have to do with Kikyou?"

And, for the record, she was _not_ trying to ignore the thought that she could possibly hurt Inuyasha- - -

'_Or kill him- - -NO! Not thinking about it; not thinking about it; not thinking about it; not thinking about it totally not - - -_'

- - -by changing the subject. Because, seriously, who did that?

"Kikyou is alive right now because you're a miko."

Inuyasha's voice snapped her out of her thoughts at break-neck speed. Confused, she continued to stare at Inuyasha in a way that made it look like that long, hairy (and green) tentacle had made another appearance.

Inuyasha heaved a long-suffering sigh before launching into an elaboration. "You're a miko. One of the duties of a miko is to take care of the sick and dying. Somehow you're emotions triggered something inside of you and instinctively, your. . . erm – 'powers' reacted on their own and did the one thing that could save Kikyou."

The nurse slowly arched her eyebrow. "And, um, dare I ask: what was that?"

"You gave her part of your soul."

"I say what?"

"Gave her part of your soul," the hanyou repeated slowly like it was completely normal.

Kagome stared for a _long_ time.

"Wench," Inuyasha started uncertainly, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out how you grew that tentacle," she automatically replied. "It's hairy. And green."

"What?"

"Never mind."

Inuyasha gave her a look that said he worried for her sanity before shaking his head. "How's your head?"

"Fine," Kagome easily replied. "I barely feel it at all. Who explained the whole miko thing to you?"

He looked like he was going to protest that for a second and then chuckled softly. "How did you guess?"

"You understood it way too much to have thought it all out for yourself," she teased lightly.

The corner of his mouth twitched in a barely restrained grin. "My mother had to sit me down and go over it a few times. I was still in shock that Kikyou wasn't dead."

"Oh, yeah. So what's happening with her?"

"She- - -" Inuyasha stopped to wince before beginning again. "She has amnesia."

"Oh," was all she said for a moment. "It'll fade though, right?" she continued tentatively, feeling slightly awkward at having to ask something like that. "She'll be – okay, right?"

Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her and tugged her to his chest in the blink of an eye. Kagome had her answer. "Oh." She felt a little crappy that that was all she could come up with so she forced a quiet "sorry" as well.

"There's nothing you can do anymore," Inuyasha murmured in her ear (making Kagome shift slightly at the pleasant feeling that his lips created).

"But she'll probably never get her memory back?" Kagome whispered, feeling horrible.

"It's. . . unlikely," he admitted. "She was given a new soul. She lived through the ordeal of you forcing a new soul into her, but her brain repressed all of her old memories. Well, all of her memories after her fifth birthday."

"Fifth birthday?" Kagome repeated. "Isn't that a little random?"

Inuyasha remained silent.

"Oh," she whispered again. "Her mind erased everything from the time she met you."

"That about sums it up," he told her awkwardly.

"Well. . . at least she sorta has a new start?" Kagome meekly said. She felt incredibly awkward suddenly and not entirely sure what she was supposed to say in the situation.

"New start," Inuyasha repeated. "Yeah, sure."

Kagome frowned and nibbled her bottom lip, unsure as to whether or not it was her place to say anything. After several moments of a semi-tense silence, she couldn't take it anymore. "What's going to happen to her?"

She was relieved when he automatically answered. "Dunno. Her parents both died so she can't exactly go and live with them. My parents are attached to her, so they're mulling it out."

Kagome's fingers tangled in the fabric of his shirt. "Oh," was all she could say. She still felt slightly awkward.

Inuyasha sighed and his breath ruffled her hair. "We can think about that later, though." (Kagome did not miss how he had used the word '_we_' and a small bubble of giddy excitement rose in her belly for some odd reason at that.) "Right now I have to ask you something."

"Ask away," the raven-haired woman said against the material of his shirt.

Inuyasha cleared his throat (a little louder than necessary) and blurted, "Will you come with me to MenouMaru's funeral?"

Kagome blinked and peeked up at him. "Funeral?"

"Um, yeah. There was something about him wanting some western-styled burial. And when I say western, I mean fully western. Which. . . brings me to my next question." Inuyasha stopped and drifted off.

"And that is?" Kagome prompted, slightly curious.

"Yeah, the funeral is kinda going to-be-in-the-States-so-I-was-hoping-that-maybe-you-wouln't-mind-coming-with-me-of-course-the-expense-of-the-trip-would-be-taken-care-of-by- - -"

Kagome pushed two fingers against his lips to stop the hurriedly breathed out words. She stayed quiet for a minute, grimacing against the material of his shirt, once again unsure of her place. "Are you sure that you want me to come?" she hesitantly asked.

"Of course! I wouldn't have _asked_ if- - -"

"Just making sure," Kagome interrupted him softly.

"Kagome," Inuyasha started in a you-should-already-know-this-you-wench-so-why-_don't_-you-already-know-this tone, "you're my – you're special, okay? Of course I want you there. I've already gotten too used to your nagging to live a day without it."

"Gee, _thanks_," she grumbled.

Inuyasha ignored her. "So. . . you'll go?"

Kagome nodded (though she still felt a wee bit awkward, to be fully honest). "Yeah, I'll go with you. Of course I'll go with you."

Relief flooded through him and Kagome felt him relax against her. His nose nuzzled into her dark locks and he sighed contentedly. "I love you. I hope you know that."

A wave of giddy excitement rushed into her stomach again at the words. The way Inuyasha had said that warmed her straight to the bone. And for one of the first times since she woke up, she answered with absolutely no hesitation and no feeling of acute awkwardness.

"I love you, too."

Kagome definitely felt him smile against the top of her head. She also grinned and moved her head to plant a chaste kiss against his collar bone.

00000000

**(E/N: Gomenasai! I didn't mean to take this long to edit but I was so busy with preparing for my trip to Japan! Then I got home a few days before school started! If you have questions about Nippon feel free to ask!)**

**Too much going on in life right now. Boy, life really has its lows.**

… **But it also has its highs, right? XD**

**Ja ne!**


	42. Infected with Emotions

Disclaimer: Le sigh. Currently I have homework, a can of soda, homework, papers to sign, homework, social drama, homework, heartbreak, homework, and some homework to deal with. Oh, what's this? 'Own Inuyasha' wasn't on the list? How can that be?

A/N: Nihihihi. I think it's time I stirred things up with Inuyasha and Kagome… they've had it too easy up to this point. :D

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Forty-Two: Infected with Emotions

00000000

Kagome definitely felt him smile against the top of her head. She also grinned and moved her head to plant a chaste kiss against his collar bone.

00000000

Rin was insane. No joke.

"How does Sesshoumaru put up with her?" Kagome whispered to Inuyasha behind her hand, all the while eyeing the young girl in question warily.

Rin was, after all, crouching down on a plain black skateboard, spinning in small donuts as fast as she could right in the middle of the hallway. She was also squealing as loud as she could and throwing out random sentences. A few fragmented phrases that Kagome managed to pick up included: "time you go outside to blow your nose," "you were hot and I made you wet," and – Kagome's personal favorite – "try'na figure why my toaster thinks I'm crazy…"

Inuyasha leaned a little to the right to watch as Rin did a turn-flip around the corner. "I can very honestly say that I'm not sure that the bastard had all of his marbles where they belonged when he met her," he replied tersely.

"Where _did_ he meet her?"

"Oh, he met her in his room," Inuyasha grimly replied.

". . . Room?" Kagome raised a brow. "And what was she doing in his- - -?"

"She was in his suitcase."

Kagome couldn't think of any proper response to that and merely started at Inuyasha as though he had grown another head.

Inuyasha nodded in agreement as though she had said something. "Yeah, I know. Disturbing, right?"

"Oh, just a little."

Inuyasha felt the urge to elaborate a little farther. "He came back from a trip somewhere over in the States and went to unpack only to find a girl in his suitcase instead of his clothes. I think he was more upset that he lost some of his favorite shirts than he was that she was in there. She's been here ever since – like a pet, almost."

"Because it's _completely _normal to have people for pets."

"Hey, hey, hey! That's one of the coolest and kinkiest things that- - -"

Kagome quickly covered her ears, cheeks flushing, and glared at her boyfriend. "No! There shall be no kinky talk. Ever."

Inuyasha snorted and rolled his eyes. "What are you? Mother Theresa? 'Kinky talk' – as you so lovingly call it – is a completely natural- - -"

"I don't care!" the miko cried. "Now let the subject- - -oh, I'm getting a call." She stopped her tirade to dig around in her pocket for her cell and checked for the caller ID. She frowned and flipped her phone open. "Um, hello?" she almost meekly greeted.

Inuyasha's ears pricked with curiosity. Kagome frowned on him, shaming his plan to eavesdrop, and turned to get a good several hundred meters between them. However, Inuyasha merely started trailing after her, foiling her plan.

Kagome scowled at him. "Can you hang on a sec, Kaede?" she asked the phone before covering the mouth piece and pointing at the ground. "Inuyasha, be a good boy and stay. Yes. Sorry, Kaede, what were you saying?"

"This actually has to do with Inuyasha," Kaede informed Kagome levelly.

Kagome raised her brows, shifting her eyes from side to side. "Oh?" she replied, tone asking for Kaede to elaborate.

"I've been having. . . reports from respectable witnesses – and I've had a few suspicions myself, I must admit – about your behavior these few days at our facility."

Kagome made a face as she tried to figure precisely what the old woman was talking about. "Okay. . . so what are you saying?"

"Kagome Higurashi, I need you to answer my next question truthfully, with no edited details. I need you to give me a yes or no answer. There is no 'maybe.' "

The miko's heart accelerated with nervousness at the unpredictable question. "Okay," she whispered meekly.

"Have you been or are you involved with Inuyasha Takahasha – who was your ward temporarily – in ways that could be deemed. . . 'inappropriate'?"

Kagome's heart rose to her throat, forming a hard lump that was hard to talk around. "You mean. . . like a relationship?" she inquired, trying to force her voice to work properly. Despite her efforts, her question came out as a weak croak at best.

"I do," Kaede responded in a professional tone, nearly emotionless. "I also mean any behavior, action, or words that you wouldn't normally use in a professional environment."

The younger woman's cheeks colored. "I don't think I ever. . ." she drifted off and winced.

"Keep in mind, Kagome, that if you lie to me, it'll be taken into record as a serious offense.

Her teeth dug down deep into her bottom lip as her brain fumbled for dialogue. However, with her heart fluttering the way it was, Kagome's mouth stayed firmly clamped shut. There was a very long pause and Kagome was expecting Kaede to fill it with some sort of speech on choice of morals or a lecture about taking responsibility seriously or- or _something_. Instead, the line remained eerily quiet. Did Kaede take Kagome's lack of response as an affirmative? Was she writing Kagome up and destroying any chance of future employment? Was that why Kaede didn't say anything – she was busy with the aftermath?

It had to have been a full five minutes when Kagome finally couldn't take it anymore and exploded, "_Fine_! I admit it – yes! Towards the end of the week our relationship was no longer purely platonic. Technically, we were dating and we still are." Her outburst complete, she stopped to take a calming breath, not appreciating the fact that she was pressured into the admittance to begin with.

"_I knew it!_" a triumphant cry chimed in loudly from the background on the other line. The voice was slightly muffled due to the fact that the person wasn't talking directly into the line, but the voice was unmistakable. . .

"Sango?" Kagome blinked in surprise. What was Sango doing listening in on- - -

"What are you doing?" Kaede inquired. There was a shuffling sound of some sort. Kaede tsked in disappointment. "Now I'll have to take it off of speaker-phone."

"No, wait, I'll behave- - -" Sango started protesting, but her plea was cut short and transformed into inaudible, broken whispers.

"It's too late now," Kaede informed the therapist chidingly, her voice much more crisp. "I already switched it over."

- - -a private conversation. . .

"Mind if I ask what's going on?" Kagome's face had heated up to a light magenta from both her embarrassment and indignation. Her tone came out a little sharper than it had before.

Kaede was silent for a while, and Kagome felt her anger rising at the thought that the old woman was pulling another trick. She was about to once again demand to know what was going on when Kaede spoke up:

"Do you know about Izayoi's role in our facility?"

Taken aback at the approach of the question, Kagome stopped for half a beat before answering. "She owns and funds it. . . right?"

"Well, that's right. Do you know the history behind as to why Inuyasha – her beloved son – was in there?" Kaede continued.

Come to think of it. . . "Erm. . . no."

There was a long-suffering sigh from the other line. "So you're dating their son, but the Takahasha's haven't taken the time to explain _anything_ to you?"

"They explained some things," Kagome protested. '_The things about demon heritage,_' she mentally added.

"But not what matters," Kaede informed her dryly. "No matter, I can shed some light on things for you. You deserve that much after the way you've been manipulated."

Kagome had to blink in confusion at that one. "Manipulated?" she repeated.

"Here's what happened: after Kikyou mated with MenouMaru and Inuyasha's friendship with him turned sour, he started acting different – _really_ different. He wouldn't even talk to anyone unless it was a smart or angry retort. Izayoi grew more and more concerned with his strange behavior and enlisted him in her facility and asked us to do our best to help him. Instead of helping him though, everything about the place just made him bitterer. Seeing this, Izayoi talked to Kouga's family and got permission to also enlist him in the facility. She thought that if he had even one friend, Inuyasha would be more liable to revert back to normal. . ." Kaede drifted off.

"But even that didn't work," Kagome finished then snorted. "Even I know something like that wouldn't work. Inuyasha doesn't talk about feelings. . . it's too corny and stupid to him."

"Precisely," the old woman affirmed. "That's why Izayoi kept on looking for things to help Inuyasha's progress. She asked Miroku to also watch out after Inuyasha and he heartily agreed. She found Sango, a teenager striving to be a psychiatrist, and decided that since Inuyasha wouldn't talk to Mr. Dai, maybe he would talk to someone his own age. Izayoi made sure to have every possibility open for her son's progress. But absolutely nothing worked. That's why she hired you."

"Eh? Me?" Kagome blinked in befuddlement.

"You looked like Kikyou," Kaede bluntly said. "If you were around Inuyasha – if a Kikyou replica was around Inuyasha – then he would be reminded of what happened all over again. The hope was that once he started remembering everything, he would at least show some sign of emotional distress so that someone could be there for him and try to get him to open up. But instead of that, he started to confide in you instead. That was a pleasant surprise. When Izayoi found out about that little nugget of knowledge, she got another idea."

Kaede paused and Kagome grew anxious. "And that was. . . ?" she encouraged almost impatiently.

"It was quite simple really: get him to confide in you; get him to trust you just as much as he trusted Kikyou. And maybe, just maybe, if things worked out, you two would go for each other. It seemed like you two were meant for each other from the start. Part of the reason why you were hired was so that you could get together with Inuyasha," Kaede finished and then waited for the response.

Kagome went completely blank for several minutes. "So you're saying. . . me – Inuyasha – _we_. . . were _planned_?" she clarified slowly.

"To be blunt about it – yes."

Kagome wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing. "Then. . . then what was the point in calling me? Just to tell me all that?" Should she be upset? She had the _right_ to be, she knew that much.

"Well. . . despite the fact that it was all planned, you _were_ still involved romantically with a patient. There are several other employees beside Sango and myself who have suspicions about it and they continually come to me with the concern that you're- - -"

"A slut?" Kagome growled, figurative hackles raising at the thought of _anyone_ calling her that behind her back.

"- - -not taking your job seriously. And that you're too young."

"So then what? Are you going to fire me?" Was she going to be unemployed soon?

"Yes. And no."

"That made no sense," the miko reminded Kaede as patiently as possible.

"What I mean," the old woman continued, "is that everyone will be told that you were fired for failing to obey policies. However, on your record, it will be noted as being let go. Your record will say that you did a wonderful job but that your service – however helpful it might've been – was unneeded. We were on the verge of being overstaffed. Does that sound fair to you?"

"Either way, I'm still unemployed now," Kagome muttered dryly, "and I liked it there. A lot."

The tone of her now-ex-boss softened. "We enjoyed having you, too, Kagome. But even so, you'll find a job that you'll grow even more attached to."

With a child-like stubbornness coating her tone, the miko grumbled, "But I don't want to find a new place to grow 'more attached to.' Did you ever think of that?"

Kaede did not respond – and if she had been forced to write down her dialogue at this particular point for a permanent record, it would've had to be: ". . ."

Taking the subtle message of the silence, Kagome sighed. "Fine. I get it," she mumbled darkly. "I'll accept the fact that I'm getting fired."

"You're not getting fired," the elder assured. "I'm merely taking you off the working schedule."

"In other words, I'm being let go."

"I would still rather prefer 'being taken off the working schedule' personally."

"It's still technically 'fired,' then."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, really. It's not."

"Am I going in to work?"

"No – I told you, you're being taken off the working schedule."

"Will I be in the records as an employee?"

"No, but- - -"

"Then I'm being fired," Kagome chirped with sarcastic cheerfulness. "Say it with me, Kaede – _Fi. Ered._ It's not so hard."

Kaede sighed. "Whatever will I do with you? Sometimes I think that Inuyasha did more harm to you than you did good to him. . . Already you're acting smart with me. What next? Calling me 'old hag'?"

"I would never!" Kagome protested, aghast.

"Ah, so you say now. Two more days with that little rascal and you'll be spewing his foul language, too." Before Kagome had a chance to protest further, Kaede swiftly said, "And now, dear Kagome, I need to bid my farewell to you. I need to call Izayoi and arrange some things. I'll be coming over tonight for dinner. I hope to see you there, hm?"

And then the line went dead.

And because Kagome was in dying need of a shoulder to cry and whimper on, and because she was in love with a half-demon whose best traits just happened to fit her needs, she opened her mouth and loudly called, "Oi, Inuyasha!" She knew full well that he would be able to hear her, and she even suspected that he may have eavesdropped on part of her conversation – until he grew bored of it and wandered away to find something interesting to do, at least.

"Wazz wrong?" is the first thing from Inuyasha as he suddenly materializes from nothing at her side. Confusion marred his golden eyes.

"I was fired," came Kagome's simple response, her tone taking on that child-like quality again. A child who was pouting about receiving an unfair judgment at school and being punished for it in a way that seemed unmerited might have the same tone as he or she grumbled his misery to the parental figures, craving for the sympathy they felt they rightly deserved.

Inuyasha did a quick once-over of her expression. "Oh. That's too bad."

"That's _too bad_?" Kagome howled. "That's all you have to say!?"

"What?" he defended himself. "I _was_ going to say that it was a good thing until I saw your face. I decided it was safer to say that it was too bad."

"You could've pretended to be a little more upset about it!" Kagome shouted back. "I lost my job – the one that I worked my ass off for! And all you have to say is, 'oh, that's too bad.' " Her voice dipped down low overdramatically as she mimicked him.

"With my connections, I can get you into some of the best working positions imaginable," Inuyasha argued 'reasonably.' "I can even get you- - -"

"I don't want to have to use your stupid _connections_ to get a job! I want to work my way – fairly – into a nice place and have a respectable, solid reputation. Is that so much to ask for around here? Or does everything you think about revolve around your connections? Is that you think about – how easy things are as long as you have connections?"

He let her get all of her frustration out through her rant before calmly responding, "Well, I was thinking that we would have more time together, for bonding and stuff. But if that's really not that important to you. . ."

Almost instantly, the plug to all her anger was pulled, purging her of her old emotions and allowing bliss to take its place. Her dark expression immediately turned to one of elation and a gentle smile tugged at her lips. "That's true," she genuinely agreed. "The world's not going to end just because I lost my job, I suppose. I still have you." As if to prove her point, she leaned up on her tiptoes and Inuyasha's cheek.

"I'm glad to see your perspective on the whole thing's changed," he replied, not sure whether to be scared or find it humorous that her attitude did a complete one-eighty in the course of .057th of a second (he counted).

'_Hell, I didn't even know that number existed,_' he mentally tacked on.

"Oh!" Kagome suddenly exclaimed. "Did you know that we were planned?"

Inuyasha titled his head and examined her, raising an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yes, you and me. We were planned," she explained slowly, like she was trying to teach a toddler why 'm' came before 'n' in the alphabet. "Your mother hired me just for the sole purpose of hooking us up."

And Inuyasha snorted, much to her surprise. "Should'a figured as much," he grumbled, crossing her arms.

". . . And you're okay with that?"

"With what?"

"With Kaede and your mother sneaking behind your back – _our_ backs – the way they did?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I'll live. Besides, it's not like it was anything that had lasting negative results. We _did_ end up together and I know _I _like it that way."

"I suppose. . ." Though Kagome still wasn't fully convinced.

"Besides, Kaede does sneaky little things like that all the time. She worms herself into other people's business on a daily business. It's why she _runs_ that damn funky farm."

And then Kagome remembered. "Speaking of Kaede, she's apparently coming over tonight for dinner."

"Heh. Then expect something fancy. My mother absolutely _loves_ having special dinners." Inuyasha paused long enough to give her an appraising look, his eyes scrutinizing the curves of her petite form. Then he nodded in satisfaction. "I think you're about Rin's size. She can lend you a dress."

Kagome barely stopped herself from doing a comical double-take. "_Dress_?"

Inuyasha had to roll his eyes at her reaction. "Mum absolutely adores fancy clothes. You're going to be around for a long while, so I can confidently tell you you'll get used to it over time."

She blinked, 'politely' inquired "_Mum_?", and then broke into a small fit of giggles.

Her boyfriend's cheeks colored to a pretty tickle-me-pink. "I had an obsession with the word after I heard it for the first time when we went to Paris for two weeks on business when I was four. It stuck," he grumbled in explanation.

It was then that Kagome lost control of her giggles and busted out laughing so hard she doubled over, using her knees for support.

Inuyasha swore she was even crying slightly.

00000000

To reiterate an earlier made point, Rin was insane.

"_Aiiiiiiii_!"

Absolutely I-N-S-A-N-E.

"It's looks so überly _cuuuuute_!"

And loud. Very loud. Kagome winced at the high-pitched squeal of excitement. She wouldn't be surprised if everyone in a hundred kilometers vicinity could hear her when she went off into one of her 'moments.'

"Now, don't _mooove_! I need to go fetch some shoes that I have. They'll go _perfect _with that color!"

And with one last squeal, Rin whirled and scampered from view.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief. Against her better judgment, she had hesitantly agreed to let Rin help her dress for dinner. The moment the hyperactive girl had caught wind of the plan, she locked Kagome away in her bedroom and went to work. Rin had forced Kagome to try on just about every dress before squealing that she had found the _perfect_ one after about forty torturously slow minutes.

Kagome's fingers anxiously rode down soft satin material on her hip bone. While the dress wasn't nearly as extravagant as she had been thinking it would be, it was most definitely the nicest thing she had ever worn in her life. And the most expensive.

Constructed of nothing but satin, the crimson dress was also extremely soft. It was form-fitting around her torso, showing off curves she hadn't known much about before. As it reached her hipbones, the material loosened its sinful clutch and fluttered loosely down around her ankles. It was longer in the front than in the back. While it kissed her ankles in the front, it continued down to lie gently on the floor, making a small train, in the back. The top of it dipped down to form a sharp V, the thin straps continuing over her shoulders to crisscross over her shoulder blades. The dress swooped down low to hug the small of her back right as it ended and started out on the swell of her backside. To finish the effect, a silken black sash embraced her waist, tying off in a bow in the back. The ends of the sash were long, and were allowed to hang low like ribbons, brushing the back of her knees. There was a near perfect diamond where her skin showed on her back.

Despite the fact that Rin had assured her that she looked 'glamorous' and 'überly cute,' Kagome couldn't help but feel awkward and out of place. The fact that there _was_ a near perfect diamond patch of skin showing made her feel like she was half-naked. She wasn't used to fancy dresses _at all_. She was seriously starting to debate whether or not to wear the dress or rip it off and walk down stairs in a casual skirt and shirt, just to be a rebel. . .

"Found them!"

The loud, gleeful screech brought her back to reality and she gave a long suffering sigh as Rin bounded into the room.

"I found the shoes," she clarified as she dumped them onto the floor. "But first, I need to put something on your neck. It's too bear." Rin sidled up to stand in front of Kagome and opened up a small wooden box she had been carrying as well as the shoes. Inside there were a couple pieces of choice jewelry. Rin selected the necklace and clipped it around Kagome's neck. The nurse's brown eyes looked down at it curiously. While it was a lot simpler than her dress, it still managed to compliment her appearance without really trying. The chain was a white-ish silver color attached to a white gold collared neck piece that swooped together to proudly display a blood-red ruby in the center. Miniscule diamonds that could only be seen on closer inspection dotted the top of the red gem to form a crown of a sort.

"It's pretty," Kagome reluctantly agreed, poking at the necklace.

"Of course it is!" Rin chirped before reaching in her small box and pulling out a ring. She grabbed Kagome's left hand and slipped it on. "It's a little loose, but it still fits okay," the younger girl enlightened.

Kagome noted that the ring was also simple yet held an undeniable beauty to it. The thin band was comprised of gold. Seven infinitesimal gems dotted the outside to form a small line of red and white – four blood-red rubies and three burnished diamonds, laid out so that every other gem was either a ruby or a diamond with the red starting the pattern on either side.

"Okay, okay, now. . ." Rin scampered over to get the abandoned sandals. "You just need your sandals and you're almost done!"

Kagome eyed the shoes warily. They were most _definitely_ stilettos, with one of the largest heels Kagome had ever seen. The heels _had _to be at least four inches. They were open-toed, with straps that looked almost like a thick ribcage. Flashes of crimson red highlighted the black. Kagome could only think of one word to define the shoes – _sultry_.

She backed away from Rin almost fearfully. "I don't think I can wear something like that," she called to Rin.

"Don't be silly, Kags! 'Course you can!"

"I don't do well in heels," Kagome admitted. "I'll break my neck. . ."

Rin rolled her eyes before diving for Kagome's feet and slipping the shoes on. "You'll be fine. 'Sides, it's only for a few hours, and you'll be sitting for most of it!"

Kagome was still mentally trembling when Rin rightened herself and took a step back to examine her work. "Perfect!" she squealed loudly. "Now I just need to brush your hair. . ." Fluttering around the room, Rin collected a few items before waving Kagome over to the bed. "Sit down and I'll brush out your hair."

Kagome sighed but complied. Rin's expert hands purged Kagome's long, black tresses of any knots and kinks. Tutting her tongue as she worked, Rin smoothed out a plain, satin, red ribbon and whisked Kagome's hair over it before tying it in a ribbon and slid it so that it was on the left side of her head.

"_Nooooooow_ you're done for real!" Rin chirped, pulling Kagome to her feet. (Kagome nearly fell on the damn heels at the sudden motion.) "We gotta gets goin', Kags. Dinner's gonna start soon."

"Okay," Kagome glumly agreed. Rin smoothed out the creases of her own fiery orange dress, flicked a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, and marched off for the stairs, waving for Kagome to follow.

The stairs spiraled down the main hall, and there were a _lot_ of stairs. Heels plus stairs equals epic fail.

"_Kya._"

"Oh, Kagome." Rin blinked as she turned around. "Are you okay?"

Kagome stumbled a few more steps before standing straight again. "I _hate_ these heels," she assured Rin as she stomped into the dining room.

"Kagome, dear, you look lovely."

Kagome 'meep'ed and turned towards Izayoi, who popped out of no where. "Oh, thank you. You look nice yourself," she answered, looking at the beautiful midnight blue dress the other woman sported.

Izayoi grinned. "Thank you, dear. Though I must say, Rin really did a job using the red to bring out the best in your features. You truly look spectacular."

Kagome colored under the praise and mumbled another thank you.

"Oh." Izayoi titled her head to look around Kagome's shoulder. "I do believe Kaede has arrived. If you would excuse me, Kagome."

"Of course," she uttered and moved to let Izayoi by. Kagome watched idly as Izayoi talked to Kaede – who was also in fancy dress.

Despite the fact that it was a small gathering with only one guest, Kagome noticed that everything was still splendorous and overdone.

"Wow, wench, you sure clean up nicely," rumbled a purring, breathy voice in her ear. Goosebumps flooded her neck and she smiled as she turned to take in Inuyasha in his dressy clothes.

"Gotta say, I never expected you to look. . ." Kagome started and then drifted off.

"So _handsome_?" Inuyasha guessed, smirking confidently.

"Like a _gentleman_. I didn't your ruffian appearance was just that – an appearance." Despite her words, she was smiling still.

Inuyasha snorted. "I'll let that slide since you look so lovely," he excused, once again appraising her. "You look fine, I have to admit."

"You have to admit?" Kagome repeated tamely.

Inuyasha saw the storm cloud coming and stopped it before it could do damage. "You _always_ look good, of course." He rolled his eyes at her for effect. He didn't give her time to reply, but instead nodded in the direction of the huge dining table. "I think everything is ready. We better sit down."

Kagome sent him a look proclaiming, 'it isn't over yet, buddy,' but took her seat next to him. Within a few seconds, everyone else had joined them, sitting in their appropriate place (apparently there was a specific placement for each individual).

It was Izayoi, sitting next to Inutaisho, who started the meal. "Itadekimasu," her melodious voice floated through the table.

"Itadekimasu," everyone else repeated in perfect unison, like it was rehearsed for a play. Kagome couldn't help but think that everything seemed extremely stiff and artificial as she piled choice entrées onto her plate.

Once everyone had everything they wanted, Izayoi broke in before anyone started eating.

"I'm speaking on behalf of everyone here, Kaede, when I say it's so nice to eat a meal with you again. It's been far too long." Izayoi smiled genuinely at Kaede.

"Oh, yes. Far too long, indeed," Kaede readily agreed before admitting, "I wanted to ask a favor of you, so I figured that the least I could do was come over for a dinner. It's always so delicious."

Izayoi tilted her head slightly. "Why, thank you. What is it that you want to ask? I have to say, it has me curious."

Kagome _still_ had a hard time believing that they weren't using a script of some sort. Everything seemed so planned. She had to continually remind herself not to duck her head under the table for a peek just to be _sure_ that they weren't secretly reading and memorizing lines.

Kaede let out a long sigh through her nose. "I've worked under you for over forty years now."

"And it's been a wonderful forty, let me assure you."

Kagome was secretly pleased to see utter bafflement flicker through Izayoi's eyes as she answered. Kaede had her genuinely stumped and Izayoi wasn't used to it.

"I don't think I have to tell you this for you to see it, but I'm old. My back has been giving me trouble over these last few months, and I think it's a gentle reminder that even I need to take a break. What I'm saying is, I think I need to retire. My time as your manager has come to an end. While I love the place dearly, I can't be of any help as an old, decrepit woman. It's time for me to go."

Izayoi remained silent for several seconds after Kaede finished. She was obviously trying to piece together everything that was being thrown at her and figure out the sudden turn in Kaede's work-life.

"I've always dreaded the day you would say those words," Izayoi finally said, tone hesitant but sincere. "It's a sad time when someone well loved wishes to leave you, especially a good friend. You will still come to visit us, won't you? I can't see myself without you completely. . ."

The old woman smiled, understanding that Izayoi was going to grant her wish of retirement. "Of course I would come to see you," she assured, sounding put-out at the thought that Izayoi was suggesting such a horrible thing as to _not visit_. "That actually brings up the second part of my favor. . ."

"Second part?" Izayoi asked.

"Yes. I heard about Kikyou's. . . condition."

And with five words, the entire room went deathly silent. The bite of pork fried rice that had been finding its way to Inuyasha's mouth froze mid-air and Inuyasha seemed to stop _breathing_ with how still he suddenly got. His ears flicked and his eyes slowly dragged over to where the old woman was sitting. His face suddenly changed from sunny to dark and ominous, like a thunder cloud had blocked his happiness suddenly.

Kagome, despite the fact her better judgment was telling her to knock it off now there's nothing wrong with him worrying about his best friend so knock it off, watched him with mounting anxiety.

"Kikyou?" Izayoi repeated, puzzled once more. "What about her?"

"I was looking around for something that could help her in her condition, with her serious amnesia, but I found that nothing will ever help her recover her memories. It was a protection mechanism more than anything. The memories of Inuyasha" – Kaede's eyes flicked over in his direction and his ears flattened under her inspection – "are all gone because of how much they hurt her. She wished so bad to not have to deal with the knowledge of the consequences of the mistakes she made, that she erased the problem and start of it from her mind. Not only will it be extremely hard to have her remember since she's using every once of will power to keep them away, but it would be cruel to make her remember. She's happy how she is. That's what matters."

"You're telling us things we already know," Izayoi replied slowly. "I know you know that, so there has to be more. . .?"

"Yes. In the state that Kikyou's in, she has a chance to start over again. Her mind will mature just as any five-year-old's would. She's a little girl trapped in the body of a teenager right now. And like any child, she needs stability. And more than anything right now, I want to be that stability. I want to give her that new beginning she so needs and deserves."

Izayoi looked contemplative. Kagome herself thought it was a _fantastic_ idea. Kikyou _did_ deserve a 'happy ending' of a sort, even if she couldn't have Inuyasha like she so longed for- - -

"No."

It was Inuyasha that spoke, and his tone was firm. Everyone turned their attention to the hanyou.

"I don't want Kikyou to be taken away by a complete _stranger_. I would rather take care of her myself." Inuyasha's golden eyes were narrowed in a glare and his hands were clenched so tightly into fists, they looked almost like perfect circles.

"Then what do you propose, Inuyasha?" a different voice – a male voice – spoke up suddenly. Kagome looked over to find Miroku at the end of the table. She blinked in surprise, wondering when he suddenly came into being. He most _certainly_ wasn't there earlier. . . right? As she mulled it over, Miroku continued, "That _you_ take care of Kikyou until her mind is one of a legal adult?"

"It's better than the old hag's plan, that's for sure," Inuyasha snarled back. "I won't let _anyone_ take care of Kikyou if she doesn't know them."

"She doesn't know you," Miroku pointed out. "She's forgotten you. The whole point in Kaede taking her is to allow her a life _away _from you. If you yourself take care of her, that defeats the whole purpose, don't'ch'ya think?"

Inuyasha's face contorted in his ire and his nails dug even deeper into his palms. Small rivulets of blood flowed down his skin only to be absorbed eagerly by the thirsty material of his pants. He didn't answer, choosing instead to send a glare so furious at Miroku, it was a wonder the monk didn't burst into flames on the spot.

"Inuyasha," Kagome murmured, growing nervous at the red stains that were growing larger and larger on his pants. She grabbed one of his arms gently and tried to loosen his death grip as she comforted, "Miroku's right. She deserves that much. If you truly care about her, you'll let her go- - -"

Inuyasha snarled low in his throat and jerked his arm away from her violently. "She needs _me_ more than anything- - -"

Kagome barely kept herself from crying. The hot, salty, burning water crept up and dammed her eyes, only just held back by her will _not_ to make the scene worse than it was. . .

"- - -and I love her- - -"

Kagome had to bite her lip to swallow the sob that exploded from her throat at those words.

"- - -she's my _best_ friend and I won't abandon her in her condition. I just _won't_. It's not happening."

Something sharp and long, like a knife, seemed to saw around her chest, battering up her heart and completely destroying her vocal cords. All she could do was nod at him to show she understood – kinda – and look down at her plate. It hurt even more to know that he could sense – smell, whatever – her sadness and tears and he wasn't doing anything about it, like he normally would. . .

"Inuyasha." Inutaisho's firm voice was god. The half-demon, as well as everyone else – save Kagome – looked to him. "You'll stop this selfish behavior right now," Inutaisho commanded. "In your wish to only think of yourself, you're hurting Kikyou. Whatever you think, she will be extremely affected by your constant presence. Kikyou as well as Kaede deserve this chance. They'll take care of each other and become like family – the family Kikyou never had the chance to have. More importantly, though, you're hurting your mate, Inuyasha. She doesn't deserve to have this entire mess put on her. It hurts her. I _know_ you can also smell her tears. She's the most important thing in your life, not Kikyou, despite what you think."

Kagome's heart only weakly fluttered at the sentence where she was once again called Inuyasha's mate.

Inuyasha stared at his father for a long time, his audience watching him closely for any change in attitude. Inutaisho returned his stare coolly, face a rigid mask of resolve.

"Fine."

And with that word, everything relaxed, breathing again. It was said with a grumpy sulkiness, but at least it was said. Izayoi turned to Kaede gleefully, ready to make preparations for the whole thing. Slowly but surely, everything else started to animate itself again, too. Rin started throwing out childish jokes as she got bored – who the hell got bored eating? – and several people shook their head in pity at her mate, "Fluffy-kins" as they heard what was on her mind. Miroku told stories – made up, no doubt – about his adventures with a woman. Everything resumed, situation resolved. Everything went back to the cheery atmosphere.

Everything except Kagome. . .

She continued mulling things over, robotically nibbling on her dinner every now and then. She never took her eyes off her plate, so she never saw Inuyasha's expression. But he was tense – extremely so – throughout the entire meal. And Kagome was too busy crying to pay attention to anything else.

She meant something to him, too. . . right?

Despite the fact that she was dying to ask him, she kept her mouth shut. She dearly wished he would lean over and whisper something – anything! – into her ear, and tease her like she always did.

He remained cool and completely silent the entire meal.

Somehow, the silence hurt her more than his prior words had.

00000000

****

E/N: Yeah I know I'm lovely! Any who I'm back from the great Japan! It was amazing ask any questions you want about it in reviews I will answer them as honestly as possible!)

**Yay beta being home! ^_^**

**T_T But it's a SAD day when you look forward to school because it puts stability in your schedule, social life, and emotions…**

**Anyhoo. I suppose it was sorta a bad thing I wrote this when I was feeling emo. I made Kagome's life miserable, too. xDD Oh, well. Suck it up, sweety, it's only going to get worse.**

**So review and tell me how I suck, ne?**

**Ja ne!**


	43. Crash and Burn

Disclaimer: I think I make a better Rumiko Takahashi, don't you? Besides, the series ended, so she doesn't really need to worry about _Inuyasha_ anymore… Right? Riiiiiiight. So from this day forward—  
-has a coughing fit-

A/N: I'mma sicker than sick. T-T Anytime I laugh, I keep on coughing up two or three of my lungs. Not good. So anything that doesn't make sense… blame it on mah sickness. :D And this skips around a lot. Um. DEAL. Cuz you love me. :)

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Forty-Three: Crash and Break

00000000

Somehow, the silence hurt her more than his prior words had.

00000000

Despite her hopeful wishing that somehow everything had been a nightmare and would revert back to normal after dinner had ended, nothing of the sort happened. As soon as everyone finished eating and Kaede had started for the door, Kagome fled up the stairs and threw herself into a random room. She was guessing it was a guest room, but at the moment she couldn't care less. It was dark. It had a corner. It was reclusive. That was all she wanted at the moment.

She needed to run through her feelings and try to figure out the whole mess. . .

She was growing depressed, that much she was sure of. A sharp, piercing ache had taken permanent residence in her entire chest right under her collar bone. Kagome also knew she was slightly annoyed at the whole thing – who did Inuyasha think he was, anyway? She had been the one to help him when he needed it most. She had been the one to help heal his emotional scars and – and – and –

And it frickin' _hurt_ that he had just seemed to have forgotten her so completely when Kikyou had been mentioned. . .

The door creaked ever so slightly and Kagome came crashing down from her thoughts, looking up curiously.

"Oh, Rin. Hey."

"Hey yourself," Rin replied, padding into the room. She had already changed back into her normal clothes and Kagome felt slightly awkward to still be in her dress.

"What's up?" Kagome asked in a whisper, unable to find the energy to talk any louder. The fact that Rin was acting sober for once in her life was enough to grab Kagome's attention, though.

Rin didn't say anything at first. Instead, she silently sat down next to Kagome and clasped her hands. Then she murmured, "I have The Good News and The Bad News, but then there's the I Don't Know Which to Call It news, as well. So, um, which would you like to hear first?"

"It doesn't really matter," Kagome responded dully. "Whichever."

"Okay, then I'll just tell you randomly. So. . . after you left, Fluffy-smoochims" – Kagome mentally winced in sympathy for the poor demon who had to live with such atrocious nicknames as Rin continued – "sorta. . . talked to Inuyasha about things."

For some reason, Kagome felt like she was just burdening everything. Before she came around, she was sure that there weren't so many problems. "Oh."

"And! Then Fluffy beat some sense into his head and it was like _whoooosh_ and Inu was like _whoooooah_ and then my Fluffinator managed to make his point and Inu-chan was all wise for once while my smoochims was standing victorious like a god, undefeated by all, and it was _soooo_ amazing but I didn't actually get to see it which makes me sad but that's okay because my darling Fluffer-balls gave me a full recap as to what happened and that's good enough since he leaves out no details when he tells a story, so that's good for me like I already said but so, like, yeah, Inu-chan has had some sort of ephonany and he said he wouldn't talk to Kikyou anymore after tonight so long as he gets to see her one last time kinda like a last goodbye if you get what I mean." Rin's dramatic hand gestures came to a conclusion and she finally stood in place.

Kagome ignored her run-on sentence that completely massacred any grammatical boundaries and murmured in correction, "Epiphany, Rin. You meant to say 'some sort of epiphany.' " Stupid as it was, the simple act of being able to be put in control of something and act as a modifier of some sort helped bring Kagome back to earth. Hey, at least she could _breathe_ properly for a moment. "Now what about this thing with Kikyou?"

"Okay, so," the bubbly girl started in her chipper tone, "Inu thought about it and realized how stupid he was for acting so rashly with Kikyou. He said that it was a good thing for her to go live with Kaede and agreed to allowing the old woman take care of her. But Inu was kinda sad, ya know? So he agreed to it so long as he gets to see Kikyou one last time before we all go to MenouMaru's funeral thinger tomorrow. After that, he won't ever see her again, probably. He seems kinda serious about letting her go. Which is reeeeal good for you cuz that means he really cares about you, so yay!" Rin threw her hands up in the air, jubilation for Kagome and her brother-in-law clearly sprawled across her features.

". . . Yay," Kagome whispered in agreement. Doubt still clouded her thoughts. Was that really going to settle things for Inuyasha?

"Righty-o. So that's almost everything I came here to tell you. The only other thing is that we're leaving tomorrow morning for the States. Really early, too. Five in the morning." Rin scoffed. "I'mma gonna be tired, man. . ." She sighed. "Whatev. I'll just sleep on the plane. But you should pack or something, right? Right. Anyhoo. I'll talk to you later. I'm gonna go find Fluffy-kins and hang with him until Kikyou gets here. I think she's coming in, like, an hour. So yeah. Ciao!"

"Bye?" Kagome called out, but Rin had already disappeared in a cloud of her own enthusiasm. Wishing for half as much energy as the little girl managed to bundle up, Kagome decided to take the advice of packing to heart and quietly slipped into the hall. She wandered around aimlessly for a bit, too tired to really care. Finally, she just stepped into a random room to collect her thoughts and go about things all over.

"What'ch'ya want now, dammit?"

Kagome nearly jumped straight out of her skin when she heard the voice and her heart skipped several beats, hastening into an irregular pace. '_Inuyasha. . ._'

He stepped out of the bathroom attached to the room, toothbrush jammed in the one side of his mouth. He was shirtless and taken slightly be surprise at Kagome's appearance.

"Oh. . . hey," he mumbled, his hostile tone suddenly timid and weak.

"Hey," Kagome breathed, barely any sound coming out. She was slightly worried that he wouldn't be able to hear her speaking over the boisterous hammering of her heart in her chest. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice thin and whispery.

Inuyasha thought about that seriously for a second before pulling out the toothbrush from his mouth and answering, "Well, see this? Yeah, I like to use this brand only usually. Cuz all the others, um, kinda hurt my gums. It's, ya know, a stick with bristles attached that clean your teeth. It's like a brush. Like you know how you brush your hair? Yeah. . . only for your teeth. But this isn't for your hair. It's, um, for your teeth. . ."

A smile smiled splayed at Kagome's lips at Inuyasha's wonderful elaboration. "I call it a toothbrush."

"Oh. Right. Yeah. You use these things, too. . ."

'_I'm really scared, Inuyasha_.'

"I think we all use them," Kagome informed his, raising a thin eyebrow. "And if you don't, then ew. Never again will _any_ girl ever kiss you."

Cherry red blood flushed his cheeks and he grumbled something inaudible and impossible to make out, eyes flickering over to her almost shyly.

'_I'm scared of have to start everything so fresh and new._'

She snorted (in a most unlady like manner – completely Inuyasha's influence) and rolled her eyes before walking over to him and taking the toothbrush. "Then again, _I'm_ the only one who would want you kiss you, and I don't want any of that crappy hanyou breath."

"Keh," he huffed, looking off to the side with a sour expression.

'_We're letting a lot of things go and making a clean start._'

Kagome's smile was small, but despite its simplicity, it was a motion of pure elation and contentment. Her heart still hammering in her rib cage, the miko leaned up on her tip toes and brushed her lips against Inuyasha's. Her eyes drifted closed as he gently gripped her waist and pulled her close, forms fitting together perfectly. His lips moved with a heated passion. It wasn't perfect and had an underlying clumsiness to it, but it was everything Kagome needed.

'_But you're scared, too, Inuyasha._'

Pulling back for air, Kagome looked down at the red toothbrush and jammed it between her teeth, shrugging.

"Ew, wench. That thing was just in my _mouth_!"

Kagome had to roll her eyes. "Oh, good golly gosh, give me a _break_. My _tongue_ was just in your mouth."

"PG! PG!" he cried, covering his ears playfully, trying to hide his grin.

Kagome merely rolled her eyes again.

'_But we'll be okay in the end._'

00000000

Kagome rolled over on Inuyasha's bed to make her point as Inuyasha paced around semi-nervously. "You're going to be fine. Just go down stairs and act normal."

"Something's going to go wrong. I _know_ it. Something _always_ goes wrong," he protested.

The ebony-haired girl stared at him blankly for a few seconds before sighing and standing up in front of him. "You know, I never did say it, but I'm really proud of you for going through with this whole thing."

Inuyasha stayed quiet.

"Saying goodbye isn't easy. But you need to stop making excuses and go down and do it. If this is what you really want, then don't stop or hesitate. Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end."

Inuyasha looked at her with a mildly surprised expression. "Ho' shit, wench. Philosophical-much?"

"Oh, shut up. I'll pack while you're down stairs- - -Hey, wait. Do I even _have_ any clothes here?"

"Yeah, you don't need to worry about packing, though. Mum's bought you an entire wardrobe that'll be there at the hotel when we arrive. All you need to worry about is finding whatever she has for you to put on tomorrow for the plane ride. Other than that, you've got everything covered." Kagome was staring at him vacantly in an almost humorous way, so he elaborated further, "Mum loves to buy clothes. Especially for you, apparently."

The ex-nurse shook her head. "I figured that part out. I'm still trying to get over the fact that you call your mother '_Mum._' "

The half-demon scowled. "Oh, whatever."

"I'm going to take a shower," Kagome said suddenly.

Inuyasha gave her a look. "Okay. . ."

"That's your cue to leave," the other pointed out.

"Oh."

Kagome waited several seconds before sighing in exasperation and opening the door. "And she's waiting for you. So _goodbye_."

"Trying to get rid of me already?" Inuyasha joked.

Kagome rolled her eyes and gestured for him to leave. "I'm being supportive, you know. Now leave. Shower time for me."

"Stinky woman," Inuyasha grumbled as he started for the door. However, he slowed as he passed her until he was completely stopped. A second passed. Inuyasha morosely stared out the door, no longer sure if the goodbye was wanted or not. The grasp on reality – that he wouldn't see his best friend – _ex _best friend – after this – sat in the back of his mind.

Kikyou or Kagome.

He had to pick one.

It wasn't a package deal.

And he wasn't about to mess up his life over all his old mistakes.

Kagome closed her eyes when Inuyasha kissed her forehead and didn't move until he was completely gone, door shut in his wake. Only then did her legs start to tremble enough for her to fall against the wall and slowly slide down until she was sitting on the floor. For once, all she could do was wait, hope, pray that things would end in a picture-perfect way.

But how often did happy endings really happen in real life?

Several long moments passed before Kagome cleared her mind. Inuyasha knew what he was doing. He deserved her trust and the privacy to properly say goodbye. With that train of thought, she started untying her dress and headed for the bathroom. She turned the water temperature up so that it pinkened her skin. After she had rinsed out all the soap from her hair and body, she allowed the scalding water to run down her skin. At first she decided to just stand there until all the hot water ran out, but she rethought that when she remembered that the Takahasha's had an unlimited water supply and she might be standing there forever before the water temp wavered. So she turned the nozzles to off and grabbed a fluffy towel.

There was a pale green, silk night gown laying on the counter next to the sinks. Instead of giving herself a hemorrhage trying to figure out how someone got inside the bathroom when the door was locked and anything else that went along with the thought of the elusive nightwear, Kagome just grabbed it and slipped it on.

The air in Inuyasha's room was colder than the air in the bathroom, which was normal. However, Kagome immediately started trembling and darted for the huge bed, burying herself under the covers. Inuyasha hadn't returned yet, which made a part of her deflate with disappointment, but rather than let that get her down, she latched onto happier thoughts.

She was going to spend several days with Inuyasha and his family in the States. She was going to get to sit with him on the plane and talk. They were going to try and make a new life together. And, best of all, she was falling asleep on his bed. And it was very likely that he was going to join her later.

That was enough for now. Tomorrow would be another story, but tomorrow was tomorrow.

00000000

"Hmmm. Kinda. . . erm, too pink."

"Fuzzerr meehhs laakds. . ."

"Frilly, too. It looks like something a preppy blonde would wear, to be honest."

"Reeesd laskaa?"

"Do I honestly come across as a preppy blonde?"

"Muzznah."

"Inu_yasha_," Kagome grumbled, fiddling with the skirt, trying to make it longer. "Wake up, you loser. The plane is going to take off soon."

"Precizzzely whhhhy 'm trynna sleep," he slurred in response.

Kagome huffed, crossing her legs and staring at the black boots that she had been give to wear that morning. They were definitely something she wasn't used to wearing, but with Inuyasha, everything was something she wasn't used to doing.

"I was _hoping_ we could talk on the ride over," Kagome persisted.

"Meh."

"Yes."

"Meh."

"_Yes_."

"Meeeeh."

Blowing a lock of her eyes in frustration, she grumbled, "You. Are. Impossible. I hope you know that."

"Mm."

Kagome gave up. She grabbed a pamphlet from the pocket in front of her that had (pretty stupid) illustrations and step-by-step instructions on safety procedures in case some crazy thing happened and everyone was doomed to die.

Secretly, she wanted to turn to Inuyasha and demand a recap as to what had happened the night before with Kikyou, but she kept her mouth shut and said nothing. She had fallen asleep before he had come back and woke up with him already stirring and crawling around in a sad attempt to get ready.

The pre-take off announcements filled up the intercom and a woman went through the fascinating process of how to buckle a seat belt, even going as far as to describe the intricate inner workings of the device. Kagome rolled her eyes and pulled out her iPod, thankful for the device to distract her.

Music, hard and angry, melodious and full of love, desperate and searching for something not yet found, screaming and hard to make out, tearful and luminous, pitifully hopeful, was her only companion for a long while. Songs melted together and she relaxed. Hours passed by and before she knew it, the sun was up and Inuyasha was- - -

"Oh, hey."

- - -awake and answering his phone. . .

Kagome yanked one of her ear buds out and looked at him semi-crossly. "Dude, you're not supposed to have those out yet," she informed him.

He waved her off completely, even going as far as to make a hand motion that suggested he was shooing a fly. Kagome stared at him in wonder and awe, completely taken aback that he did such a thing. Once the shock had worn off, her eyes narrowed slightly and she leaned closer to him. "Who's calling, anyway?"

Inuyasha paused for a half a second to look over at her and distractedly mumble, "just Kikyou" before going back to his conversation. And with the way he became engrossed, Kagome had to marvel that he bothered to answer her at all.

However, with his answer, an antsy anticipation crawled up her spine and left her uncomfortable. "I thought you said you weren't going to talk to her that much anymore. . . ," she whispered. She knew he could hear her. And she also knew that he was ignoring her for some reason.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what you mean. Mmhmm. Really. Oh, really? I read that before. Good book. Yeah, I find it extremely interesting, especially since it's narrated by Death himself. Gives you a whole new perspective. . ."

Kagome clenched her teeth in mild frustration at his jovial tone. '_He would've rather sleep than talk to me, but _she_ calls and suddenly he's all ears,_' she mordantly thought. '_I don't know why I even _bothered._ Geez. . ._'

Trying to block out the conversation, she turned her iPod volume the whole way up. The notes blared out at her, almost deafening her. She refused to take her eyes off of the help-in-case-everyone-is-doomed pamphlet and waited for some sign that Inuyasha was done talking to his wonderful BFF.

She had read about two of the little illustrations and not even fifteen seconds of her song played before it stopped suddenly. Kagome automatically looked to the device, thinking she had accidentally hit 'pause' or something along those lines. However, instead of finding her iPod in her knee where she had originally balanced it, she found it in Inuyasha free hand. He had most definitely pulled the ear buds out of their proper socket.

"What- - -?" Kagome was baffled.

"Shhhh," he hushed, handing the device back in two pieces. "Yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, was distracted. What was that?" And then Inuyasha paused to listen and laughed merrily.

Kagome stared at him like she had never seen him before and stood up suddenly, ignoring the gentle reminder from the hostess that she was to remain seated please. She stumbled as gracefully as possible back to the bathroom. She jammed the ear pieces back in her ears and plugged everything back in its proper place. She jumped when her song resumed, loud as ever, but left it play.

Frustration and hurt welled up inside of her. Inuyasha said he wasn't going to talk to Kikyou again after last night. Then why the _hell_ was he on the phone with her? And why was he doing everything possible to ignore Kagome as much as possible?

'_You're infuriating_,' Kagome thought to herself, rubbing the heel of her palm against her eyes furiously. She was _not_ going to cry over that idiot today. No-siree-bob she wasn't. She was going to march out there and. . .

Slowly, her legs bent until she was crouched with her head between her knees. Her breathing was erratic and her emotions were a complete mess. Where the hell did Inuyasha get off thinking he could act like this?

And on the other side, should Kagome allow him some slack and be more understanding of it? They were friends, sure. . .

But did Inuyasha have to act like such an asshole?

Was Kagome acting too brashly?

Confused as hell, Kagome fell back onto her bottom and sat, legs out straight, on the bathroom floor. Despite the fact that there was still a good seven or eight hours left to the ride, Kagome didn't move from her place. She didn't feel like talking to Inuyasha when she was so confused. Instead, she sat and thought.

And even though she was sure the bladders of small children and old geezers probably exploded because of her, she didn't open the door to anyone who anxiously knocked in hopes of using the toilet.

Hell, over Kagome's loud music, she couldn't even hear them knocking to begin with.

00000000

Izayoi was frowning. "Kagome, you look pale."

"Nah, it's fine. We've arrived in the States now. . ."

Kagome looked warily at the older woman. "Really now?" her tone was too tired to be as biting and sarcastic as she would've liked it to be.

"It's a lot bigger than back home, that's for sure. . ."

Izayoi carefully looked over the younger woman before scowling. "I've never seen someone get so gaunt in just twelve hours."

"Well, if someone would _get off the phone_ and maybe _let me listen to my music_ I wouldn't've had to sit in the bathroom for most of the ride over. Hasn't your phone died on you yet? Or haven't you been talking to her the entire time?" Kagome's fiery temper laced each and every one of her words and she spat out most of her frustration at Inuyasha.

And his only reaction was to blink at her and then shake his head before going back to the conversation.

Kagome felt like tackling him right then.

Izayoi looked very aghast at her son's behavior. "Inuyasha, get off the phone now. You're mate is trying to talk to you and you're ignoring her. How ignorant can you get? Say goodbye. _Now._" Upon seeing Inuyasha not making any move to say goodbye, Izayoi simply plucked the phone from his hand and flipped it shut. "As I was saying," she began in a thunderous tone, "you, dear boy, are an ignorant idiot. Did you not promise to not talk to Kikyou after last night?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, but Izayoi held up a hand to silence him before he could even begin. "I don't want to hear it. I'm not the one you need to explain yourself to. Your father and I are going over to see some relative's of MenouMaru and talk some things out with them. You two will be alone together in the hotel for a while, that means. Use the time to talk these things out." Izayoi handed the card-key over before placing her hands on her hips. "We'll be back later. Make sure you eat. And Kagome?"

The miko looked over at Izayoi to show she was listening.

"You have my full permission to hit him."

And with that, Inuyasha's mother left, leaving the two standing in the hallway in front of their hotel door. Kagome didn't say anything but instead slid the key through the reader and opened the door once it was unlocked.

"Now why does this feel familiar?" Inuyasha weakly joked as he stepped through the door. Kagome followed him in and closed the door. Their things had already been brought up so Kagome didn't even bother to pause before she started off to find her bedroom.

"Now what are you mad about, wench?" Inuyasha asked in exasperation as Kagome ruffled through the drawers in one of the rooms. She paused in her search to look over at him thunderously and walked right by him wordlessly as she went to a different room. "Alright, alright, so I admit that you have a right to be mad at me," Inuyasha confessed. "I know I'm technically not supposed to talk to Kikyou at all anymore, but last night. . . she was so scared, and we got along so great, it was like nothing had ever happened, and she asked if she could call me for the first few days until she got comfortable. I'm like her only friend right now. And we're not even supposed to be friends."

"Precisely," Kagome mumbled, feeling trapped and extremely guilty. "But. . . I do get where you're coming from. I seriously do. It's. . . like a change of plans and everything. That part's okay. What really upsets me is the fact that you were purposely ignoring me completely."

"I wasn't _ignoring_ you," Inuyasha protested.

"You were too wrapped up in talking to Kikyou to grace me with proper responses. That's pretty darn close to ignoring someone if I'd ever heard of it."

"I didn't mean to. . ." He drifted off and his shoulders deflated. "Alright, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem like that. But Kikyou, she. . . needs me, too, still."

Kagome deflated. "But she _shouldn't_ need you anymore," she weakly defended with a child-like firmness. "She has Kaede now."

"But that's not enough," the half-demon breathed. "Just for now, please, that's not enough."

'_Who are you trying to convince here?_'

Kagome's heart heaved heavily in her chest, guilt and misery clawing at her ribcage painfully, squeezing on her lungs and making it hard to breathe properly, let alone think. He looked so sincere. . .

"Fine," she conceded. "Fine. Fine. Okay. Fine. Okay. _Fine_." Every syllable that left her mouth was more desperate in tone than the last. '_Please, no. Don't. Please, please take it back,_' she begged silently, distantly hoping that Inuyasha would be able to hear her plea.

Instead, his shoulders slumped in relief and he pulled her into a hug. "Thanks," he breathed.

"Mmhmm," she hummed, swallowed anything else she wanted to say.

The sunlight faded behind them as dusk fell and evening came. Inuyasha nuzzled Kagome's hair before pulling away and sitting on the bed, patting the area next to him invitingly. The miko hesitated for a second before plopping down next to him, slipping off the leather boots that she had been wearing and stretching her ankles. Her tendons groaned in protest, having grown stiff and locked from the plane ride.

Inuyasha turned her and splayed her legs across his lap. Kagome frowned in confusion at him. Instead of verbally answering, he started working the muscles along her calves and down to the balls of her feet. His demonic strength allowed him to apply just the right amount of pressure without hurting her. Kinks and knots that she hadn't even known had existed before melted under his fingers. A soft sigh of appreciation passed through her lips. She flopped unceremoniously onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

"The feels wonderful," she appraised him, eyes closing.

"You must be exhausted. Jet lag has a strong affect on humans. Shouldn't you be resting right now?"

"Mm," Kagome hummed. "Yeah, maybe. Just don't stop. It feels. . . really. . . nice." She drifted off drowsily. Inuyasha's hands continued to work at her legs. Almost like an abstract lullaby, she felt it shushing her to sleep.

'_I've been falling asleep a lot lately,_' she thought to herself loosely, words forming in her mind drunkenly. And then, contented, she felt the numbing darkness of sleep wash her away. '_Just don't stop. . ._'

00000000

When Kagome woke up, it was late. Not late as in three-four-ish in the morning late, more like three-fourish in the afternoon late. That was late. That was _really_ late.

"Whazz slee' so long?" She wiped her eyes pathetically in a small attempt to rouse her dead mind.

"You looked too peaceful. I couldn't wake you."

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, who was sitting not more than four feet away. She blinked slowly. "So you jus' let meh sleep? Idiot. I wasted a whole day. . ."

"It would just be more stress if you had stayed awake," Inuyasha assured her. "Mum and them came back really early this morning with all the details on the funeral and that. It's going to be today before sunset, which is in a few hours- - -"

"Why do I always sleep straight to the important deadlines?" Kagome cried in exasperation. "Just _once_ I would like to be awake before something happens."

"You are awake before 'something happens,' " Inuyasha tartly reminded her. "You're awake now, aren't you? And the funeral is in an hour and a half. That gives you enough time to get ready, hm?"

Kagome pouted. "You're already ready," she pointed out sourly. "Why did you let me _sleep_?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm sooooo sorry, my dear princess. I'll remember from now on that you're not allowed any sleep. At all. So when you get big bags under your eyes and you're cranky as hell, I'll just remind you that- - -"

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled. "I mean why did you let me sleep so late _today_?" Kagome rolled off the bed and started stumbling around. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to _wear_- - -"

"The black dress in the closet."

"- - -or if I have any real shoes besides those _boot things_- - -"

"Also in the closet."

"- - -and I just woke up! I probably look like hell- - -"

Inuyasha snorted. "That's so not true."

"- - -I'm so not going to be ready in time! Oh, it's going to be awful. . ."

Inuyasha sighed before suddenly appearing in front of her, grabbing her hands that had been furiously flying around the room, looking for miscellaneous odds and ends. "Kagome, calm down." He rolled his eyes at her. "I'll leave and you can get dressed, okay? Your clothes and all that are in the closet. Hairbrush and all that crap is in the bathroom. Don't worry about getting too fancy, though, okay? It's a funeral. The guy died. We're not _celebrating_ it."

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "I know that, you dimwit. I'm not the stupid one here."

"Oi, what am I then? Old bubble gum?"

The raven-haired woman raised a brow. "Well, it never came up in the conversation, but Inuyasha. . . I think we need to talk about your place in life. Bubble gum is a good thing. People chew on it. They like it a lot. It even stays around long after it's time is up on the bottom of tables and things like- - -"

"Just stop there," Inuyasha deadpanned. He shook his head and let go of her, hiding his smile. "I get it. I'm not needed. Time for me to go attach myself to the bottom of a table."

Kagome waved sadly as he made his grand exit. "Farewell. I shall miss you. Maybe I'll pick you off some day and use you again."

A loud cry echoed through the halls: "_Ew!_"

Kagome snorted back her giggles, sidling over to the closet and digging out the lacey gown that was hidden deep within the depths of the built-in room. Just as Inuyasha had told her, she found a formal knee-length black dress and a pair of simple (yet still elegant, but that was just expected by that point) black heels. After a short pause, Kagome grabbed the outfit and headed for the shower, deciding to wash off the grimy feeling of excess sleep. The warm water helped to waken her more.

Dressed and ready as she was probably going to get, she went back out into the bedroom and grinned when she saw Inuyasha there. He smiled back, his features softer than before. "Ready to go then?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, combing stray strands of her long hair nervously.

"Well then, the chariot awaits us- - -"

"_Feeeee-yuuuu-neee-rallll!_ We're going to a funeral. Now hurry up and get your butts down here! We've got dead people to see!"

Kagome stood still for a second before leaning towards the nearby window. "Did that, uh, come from outside?"

Inuyasha slapped his hand to his forehead, dragging his palm down his face for an extra measure. "The woman has _issues_, Sesshoumaru. Why can't you _see_ this?" he grumbled to himself.

"I think she quite sets the mood."

"We're not supposed to walk into a mournful time like a funeral laughing and joking," Inuyasha mumbled, crossing his arms in a childishly sour way.

Kagome shrugged. "It's better than crying," she offered. "Wouldn't you rather have friends and family laugh about the good times than cry over what's lost?"

The other looked up at the ceiling. "Why are you so _philosophical_? Can't you just for once in your life act, I dunno, more stupid?"

"You have Rin for that," Kagome deadpanned.

"Christ help us all for that. . ."

"_Feeeee-yuuu-neeee_- - -"

"We know!" Inuyasha roared in exasperation. "Geez, give us a second to get- - -"

"- - -_eeee-ralllllll!_"

"_We know_," both Kagome and Inuyasha yelled back at the same time, despite the fact that the chance of Rin hearing them from thirty-odd floors down was unlikely. How _her_ voice managed to carry so far was a miracle itself.

Kagome shook her head and Inuyasha cried on the inside, wondering why Rin had to have so few marbles. "Well, at least we have her to set our mood. We're not allowed to be sad so long as she exists."

Inuyasha grumbled darkly.

"It's not that bad."

"Oh, wench, just wait until she's had coffee and you're the only one around at two in the morning. It's pretty damn bad."

"_Feeee-yuuuuu- - -_"

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's arms and started heading for the exit. "Let's get down there before she has a hemorrhage. Or before people start to really get scared."

"Agreed."

The trip down the elevator was quick. Once the doors opened, they were greeted by the sight of the main entrance doors – which where Plexiglas spinning doors – whirring in mad, furious circles.

"_Heeeee_ – "

"Shit."

"What the. . .?"

Kagome and Inuyasha traded quick looks before turning their attention back to the spectacle laid out before them.

"Ma'am, please, could you. . . Ma'am. Ma'am!" the secretary behind the front counter called toward the blurring doors feebly.

"What is she _doing_?" Kagome asked no one in particular.

"Who _knows_?" Inuyasha groaned in response.

"Rin. Knock it off."

Kagome jumped and "meep"ed, whirling to look for the person who spoke. Inuyasha glanced over at the lounge area, pinpointing his brother in one of the reclining chairs, watching the scene apathetically.

Rin giggled as she stepped out of the doorway and stumbled about drunkenly. Confused passerby breathed in relief at finally being able to pass through the door. Rin just fell to her knees, still in hysterical giggles. "That was fun, Fluffy-kins!"

Sesshoumaru stood and started toward them. "I'm sure it was, Rin. But now you need to pull yourself together. That was a very immature act. Very disappointing."

"Oh," Rin harrumphed, getting to her wobbly feet and putting her hands on her hips, "you just want to try it sometime with me and you know it. No worries. We have all night, so just worry yourself out of your rut."

Sesshoumaru raised an perfect, silver eyebrow at her. "Rin, we are in public right now. I need you to bring out your mature side and remember that we're heading towards the funeral of a dearly loved friend of the family. We will be seeing his relatives. They will _not_ appreciate you singing folk songs over his casket, nor will they understand your morbid jokes- - -"

"_Fe-yu-ne-ral!_" Rin squealed, grabbing a hold of Sesshoumaru's hand and skipping towards the spinning glasses again.

"Rin. Did I _not_ just get through- - -_We are not running in circles around the door._"

And Kagome and Inuyasha traded another look.

"Just don't," Inuyasha advised.

Kagome smiled. "We're so not normal."

"I said don't," Inuyasha whined.

And with that, the two started toward the frantically spinning door with no intention of helping the frustrated demon or his permanently-on-crack mate.

00000000

**Wanna know two simple facts?**

**One: Rin is actually based off of me. Yes, I do act like her. On many occasions. :D 'Tis why I scare people… **

**Two: I reallllllllly hate this Fic anymore, guys. Seriously. Hate it. No point. Kinda. Everything I write for this ends up making no sense, going in circles, and getting jammed full of crack. Gyah.**

**But guess what else? Ready for this one?**

**One. More. Chapter. To. Go. Until. The. End.**

**You heard me right. If I have everything planned right (which I do), only one more chapter and then finis. No more A Dark Past. It will be dead. :D**

**God, that felt so good to say…**

**Ja ne! **

**(Unedited. What did you expect? Edited version up soon… ish.)**


	44. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Disclaimer: Nihihihihihihi. Yes. I have _finally _gotten to speak to Rumiko-sensei's lawyers. They said that "they have viewed my plea to be one of the most unusual ever and after a long consideration decided that it would be in the public's best interest if they complied with my wishes and that I could have a nice chat with Rumiko-sensei over a hot cup of tea so long as I'm in my proper rubber room and wearing my special visitor's-only white jacket complete with buckles, straps, and restraints." Nihihihihihihihihi… I can't _wait!_

A/N: Before we begin the last walk on the journey (ho' hell yeah! This bitch is almost OVER!), I just want to **WARN** you:

I'm not going into detail on the funeral. I don't want to hear anything about how "the funeral seemed rushed/the details were wrong/you don't do that at a funeral." Honestly, I probably know more about funerals than any of you. I've literally been to over a hundred funerals in my short life, including that of my own parents. A long, lengthy, and boring funeral wouldn't benefit either of us, so just enjoy, ne? This is a light-hearted fic for a reason. ;)

There are a few more notes at the bottom. Read please, they are a mite important. :)

AGE:

InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Forty-Four: Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

00000000

_Once again, Christmas had rolled around and I was bouncing around from store to store, taking in each colorful device and scrutinizing every toy with careful eyes, treating everything like a specimen. This one too small; that one not right._

_After a long and arduous search, my eyes locked in on the perfect prize and my legs went into auto-mode and scurried me over. I reached out to claim what was now rightfully mine. For some reason, I had grown an unnatural addiction to card games from the first time I had seen my father playing a casual game with some colleagues. The box of _The Complete Blackjack Game (accessories included)_ completely held me spell bound and I wanted it more than anything- - -_

_My hands had barely grasped the package when another latched on to my reward. My eyes narrowed as I looked over to see another boy standing there, expectant look on his face. When he saw I had no intention on relinquishing what was now _mine_, a childish determination that could not be beaten down overtook him and he tugged on the toy. I tugged back. He tugged harder. I used my bodyweight against him as I retaliated. He dug his heels in the ground and leaned back, using my strategy against me and then some. _

_My fingers started slipping on the waxy covering of the box and before I knew it—_

_We were both on the floor. _

_However, rather than give the other the time of day and admit defeat, we started rolling around, clumsily wrestling. Punches and kicks were delivered to everything in sight, all aimed at the protagonist in our mind. Bites and fingernail-induced scratches soon found themselves in our brawl. But of course, like all fights, it was broken up by two very disappointed mothers. _

_Mum took a hold of me and easily pulled me away, a chagrined frown marring her face. _

"_What are you doing?" she murmured to me, disappointment heavy in her voice. "You're going to be seven soon. You know better. Besides, there were more on the shelf. Did you ever stop to think about that?"_

_Glowering, I shrugged. In the background, I could see the boy getting the same lecture from his own mother and I smiled on the inside at the thought that he was also being reprimanded for his "unacceptable behavior."_

"_Now. You're going to walk over to that other boy and hand him the racing set and you're going to smile and say you're sorry," my mother instructed. _

_Displeased at the turn in events, I sulkily trudged over to the discarded toy and picked it up._

"_Here," I muttered to him, completely cutting off his mother, who was still in the middle of a lecture. "I dun want it anymore now that you touched it."_

_Mum sighed at me and, seeing that I was a lost cause, turned to the other mother and assured her that I didn't mean any harm. The other boy, however, continued to stare darkly at me before turning his nose up. _

"_I don't want it either," he proclaimed. A smirk twitched at his lips and the expression was so confident, so relaxed, so superior, so cocky, I found myself falling head over heels with it._

_Thinking back to blackjack, when you win, it's common to say "winner, winner, chicken dinner." In a way, at that moment, I had definitely won something, though just what was yet to be determined. _

"_You're not so bad," I told him suddenly after a small pause. "Name's Inuyasha. Pleased to meet'ch'ya, you bastard."_

_(I could only thank some Higher Power that my mother was too busy to hear my colorful language.)_

_The kid looked back at me for a second dumbly before his smirk spread into an amused smile. "Right back at'ch'ya, asshole. I'm MenouMaru."_

_Beginnings aren't perfect and endings should never come. There are a lot of things that I regret. There are a lot of things that I would like to redo. But now…_

_It's time for goodbye. As easily as we said hello, the very opposite must be said. I hate you; you were my best. I adored you; you were my biggest rival. You annoyed me to no end; I couldn't go a day without you. _

_I'll miss you._

_I'll never forget you._

_I forgive you._

_I'm sorry._

00000000

The words faded and the entire site was left in silence. Inuyasha stepped back from the small podium that was neatly placed on the wooden platform in the small pavilion at the cemetery. Once he stepped down, everyone started filtering out, only close family and friends staying behind for one last moment with the closed casket.

Inuyasha didn't follow the steady stream of mourners out, nor did he stay behind. Instead, he headed in the direction of a thick grove of tombstones and meandered aimlessly amongst them.

"He was your best friend. It's okay for you to be sad," a gently voice murmured from behind him.

Inuyasha's eyes settled on a tombstone that held the birth and death date of a young child. "Everything is so screwed up." His voice was barely above a whisper. "I know that, and I accept it. Life is a circle – someone dies and someone is born. It's almost like the reason for death is to control the population."

Small arms wrapped around him from behind and a cheek was placed on his back. "There are many ways to view death, and that's true in a loose sense, but death is more a part of life. It's not as trivial as that. Things will continue on once you die, yes, but you've left part of yourself in everyone you knew. MenouMaru affected you, didn't he?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha sighed. The one word was all he could think to say, even though it didn't say anything at all. And yet, in some way, it summed everything up.

Kagome. Kagome. Kagome. Kagome. Everything was Kagome. His emotions were Kagome. His life was Kagome. His death was Kagome.

His mate was Kagome.

She smiled at him. "I liked your story."

"Keh." He crossed his arms in gentle mock-annoyance. "It's called a _eulogy_, wench. Even I know that much."

"I prefer to call it a story," Kagome responded after a pregnant pause. "Because, in essence, that's all it was. That's all everything is, you know – a story. From life to death. . . it's all just a long story. MenouMaru's chapter is complete. Now it's time for a new one to start- - -"

The intoxication of Inuyasha's scent had always been a mystery to her. She often wondered if he wore some sort of cologne. Since his sensitive nose wouldn't allow him such luxuries, she often pondered about it. Now, having their position flipped and being encircled in his arms – _drowning_ in the smell that was simply Inuyasha – she once again couldn't help but wonder how his scent seemed to inebriate her so effortlessly.

"I want it to start with you," Inuyasha breathed into her hair. Kagome's heart skipped a beat and a pleasant red hue warmed her cheeks.

"It will," she assured. "I'll _always_ be here. That's a promise. No matter what happens, you won't be able to get rid of me – because I love you."

Inuyasha's grip tightened around her and she felt him plant a kiss on the top of her head. "It's time to start the new chapter," he murmured (very cryptically in Kagome's perspective, might one add). And then, he pulled back.

Kagome deflated when she saw just why he had pulled back. . .

"Kikyou?" Inuyasha said by way of greeting. "Mmhmm, yeah. Actually, yeah, I wanted to tell you something."

Kagome crossed her arms across her midsection, feeling oddly dejected. She tried to meet Inuyasha's eyes and quietly portray how she felt- - -

"Nah, this should take too long. There's something quick I wanted to tell you anyway."

- - -but he was too consumed with his conversation to make eye contact.

"Did you know that Kaede is going to take the best of care for you? Even if I can't be there to help you stand up again, that's okay. I get it now. Really, I do. It's better for both of us to start over again, ne? It's the fairest thing in the world. You're part of the past, and even though my past is a dark past, it's mine nonetheless."

What the- - -?

Kagome was no longer looking at Inuyasha with all her feeling of hurt laid out for all to see but in complete and utter confusion. What he was he _talking _about? Was he- - -? Kagome's heart fluttered in her chest at the thought, but was he actually letting go of Kikyou. . .?

"But now I'm ready to make a future," he continued, oblivious to the inner battle Kagome was waging with her overactive imagination. "And. . . you can't be part of it. I'm sorry. You're my best friend. Truly, you are. With MenouMaru gone, you're one of my only friends. And as your friend, it's my duty to protect you. And this is the best way to protect you. Just like I want my _happily ever after_, you're going to get one, too. A life away from me is just what can make that come true."

Kagome was stunned into silence as she watched Inuyasha. He still refused to make eye contact with her, instead focusing his eyes on a small tombstone that was nearby. Why was he saying such cruel things about himself? She looked at the headstone he was looking at, almost as if for answers. It was a child's tombstone, but that didn't tell her anything. Still perturbed, she looked back at Inuyasha as he continued.

"I'm confident I've found my own happily ever after and. . . you _are_ my best friend, so you're the first I'm going to tell this to. Kikyou, I've decided that I'm going to take Kagome to marry me."

And Kagome's world turned upside down. Heat flooded her cheeks and she choked on her spit, trying to remember how to freaking _breathe_. He was serious. He was _serious! _He hadn't been joking when he said that. He. . . Kagome's giddy mind went back to trying to remember how to breathe – in out in out whoa hang on there too fast take it easy in out in out thata girl you can do this it's as easy as breathing – and- and- and- and. . .

Inuyasha was going to _marry_- - -!!

"Kagome, not Sango," Inuyasha quickly corrected the phone. "Kagome." Pause. "Yeah, _Kagome._" Another pause. "No, no, no. That's Sango. My other friend is dating her. This is Kagome." Three seconds. "Yeah, the pretty girl from the dinner. Kagome." Another pause. "Yes, marry. Also known as matrimony." A pause. And then an exasperated sigh. "It's a longer word for 'marriage.' I'm _marrying_ Ka- - - What?" Pause. Sigh. "_Yes, _Kikyou. The type with cooties." Pause. "Cooties can't kill people." Four more seconds of silence. "No, cooties can't hurt- - -" Pause. Another small sigh. "Well I'll be sure to get my cootie shot then? What? Yeah." Pause. "Kikyou. . . I am _not_ singing." Another pause. A grumbled whine. "Kikyou. . ." More silence. Another sigh. More annoyed than exasperated this time. "_Fine_." And then a chant: "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now I got my cootie shot. Happy? What? _No_- - - I _so _made the hand motions!" A growl. "I'm _not_ doing it again. Oh, look at that. I gotta go."

And then Inuyasha was serious once more.

Kagome had relearned the art of breathing way before and was, by that point, staring in slight amusement as Inuyasha talked to the girl that had the mind of a five year old. However, the breath was zapped right out of her when those amber eyes that were currently full of intensity turned to look at her. Before, she had been dying for the eye contact, but now. . .

'_Breathe! Breathe! We just went through this! Breathe – in, out, in, out, in, out, in, out. Keep going, keep going. You're doing good. Don't make me go doctor on your ass!_' the small part of her mind that had labeled itself as 'conscience' a long time before lectured her as her lungs collapsed in on themselves.

"Kagome," Inuyasha murmured, falling down onto one knee. "This is something I should've asked a long time ago. But I suppose I'm just an idiot who takes forever to realize things. But. . . better late than never, right?" A shy grin tugged at his lips as he continued, "So. Are you ready to start that new chapter with me. . . together as husband and wife and mates for all eternity?"

'_Doctor! Hurry! The patient has stopped breathing! What do you _mean_ what do I mean? I _mean_ there's no air going in or out of her lungs. What? Yes, I've tried to convince her to breathe on her own! What do you think I am – an imbecile? . . .Ouch, that hurts, Doc._' The annoying voice sniffed in mock hurt before sighing and changing tactics. '_If you don't inhale, you won't be able to accept his proposal. . ._'

Kagome's throat was raw at the sudden onslaught of air that was forced down to her trachea. Inuyasha's brow crinkled with worry at the sound and he opened his mouth to ask something – most probably if she was alright or something along those lines – but Kagome cut him off before he could even speak.

"Yes," she breathed, face once again hot with a wild blush. She couldn't care less at that point – she was getting _married_, dammit! "Yes," she repeated again, more forcefully. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes yesyesyesyes_YES_ – _god_, why are you even bothering _asking_ yes!"

A smirk – sinfully slow in appearing – upturned Inuyasha's lips. "Keh, wench. Just wanted to make sure. Geez. You act like- - -_oomph_."

Kagome slammed into the kneeling hanyou, completely destroying his sense of equilibrium and sending them both to the ground. The miko's arms wrapped around his neck in a vice-like death grip and she didn't plan on letting go. Her salty, wet happiness seeped into his shirt and he panicked.

"H- hey. I thought you were happy. What happened to the smile?" Anxiously, he adjusted himself so he could try to lift her chin to meet her eyes. Try being a key word there. Kagome still refused to let go of his neck and her face was still securely tucked into the crook of his neck.

She sniffled. "You. . . you idiot," she blubbered. "I'm crying _because_ I'm happy. Geez." She sniffled again.

Inuyasha felt something inside him melt completely at the words and his breath suddenly left him in a _whoosh_ leaving him vulnerable and winded. "I love you," he barely managed to breathe out, awed by the entire thing. He kissed the top of her head before awkwardly getting to his feet, Kagome-leech still firmly clinging to his neck.

"Wench," he murmured, "you need to let go now."

She shook her head stubbornly and tightened her grip.

Inuyasha chuckled, gently grabbing her face and stroking her cheeks. "But if you don't, I won't be able to kiss you," he teased lightly.

Kagome hesitated and then craned her neck up at an odd angle so that her lips could reach his whilst still glomping his neck.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but despite that, there was a smile teasing his features. His beautiful golden eyes started to drift shut as his head lowered down and Kagome felt her own eyelids grow heavy. His warm breath fanned her face- - -

"PG, PG, PG!" squealed a sudden _certain_ girl as she literally sent them flying apart. "There are _children_ here, you brutes!" Rin glared at both of them, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, it's not like you're going to get _married_ or some- - -"

'_For being so hyper and overactive_,'Kagome thought to herself, '_the girl is unusually perceptive._' Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. '_Wouldn't put it past her to be ESP. . ._'

But whatever it was – ESP or some superpower that had the word 'hyperactive' in it – Rin's 'there's-a-lesson-to-be-learned-here' look suddenly froze, only to be replaced with a devilish smile.

"_You. Are. Getting. Maaaarried,_" the girl sang, cocky expression still firmly planted on her face.

Acting quickly before Rin had time to explode, Inuyasha opened his mouth to calm the girl down some – '_Like _that's_ possible! The girl is a demon in disguise!_' the youkai in his head cackled and Inuyasha throttled the beast as best as he could – but the countdown ended and the bomb inside his sister-in-law exploded. With a loud boom. And a bang. And maybe even a hee-haw.

"_Maaaa-yaaaaa-reeeeeeeeeeed!_" she squealed and wailed at the same time, stars forming in her eyes. "Oh-em-_geeeee_! Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- - -"

"Oh, shit," Inuyasha moaned, leaning and placing his forehead on Kagome's forehead. "We've added fuel to that thing's fire of energy."

Kagome wasn't given time to respond before:

"Hey, guys! C'mere! You'll _never_ guess what just happened! _Come here_, I said! No, you're going the wrong way! _Come. Here_! You! Fluffy! You're pink butt better get over here _now_. FLUFFY! I know you hear me, you demon, you!"

"Oh, wait, Rin- - -" Kagome tried when the girl had paused for half a second.

"Oh, don't worry," Rin comforted the miko. "_Everyone_ will know about this wonderful development in _no time_." She grinned at the couple. "You can count on that."

Kagome groaned and slapped her forehead. Inuyasha shook his head pathetically, covering his eyes as though the act would help make his brother's mate disappear from the world entirely.

And speaking of the bastard. . .

"Rin. Do you mind explaining why you are causing such a fuss in a graveyard? You need to express your respect for the- - -"

"Oh-em-geeee, Fluffy!" Rin squealed, completely ignoring the start of a lecture. "You're _never _going to guess what's going on!"

Sesshoumaru stared at her blandly, deciding not to waste his breath with continuing his speech. He remained silent, however, and Rin soon grew impatient.

"Weeeell?" she crooned. "Are you going to guess or what?"

"You took a bath," her mate responded monotonously. Scary thing was, he was quite serious as he said it.

"Oh, silly," Rin giggled. "No, no. Try again. Do you give up? Well, okay, whatever. _Inu-chan and Kaggy-chan are getting maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa_- - -"

"Rin, breathe and finish the word," Sesshoumaru ordered in deadpan.

"- - -_aaaaaaaaaaarried!_ M-A-R-Y-E-D! That's spells married!"

Cold, golden eyes flicked over to Inuyasha and Kagome. "Does the deranged one speak the truth?" he inquired, lifting a brow.

Kagome flushed slightly and glance at Inuyasha a little uneasily. He smirked at her before turning his attention to the bastard. "Yeah, it is. What of it?"

Sesshoumaru smirked in response, a slow and methodical movement. Kagome found herself shuddering at the sight of it. It was. . . creepy, for lack of a better word. She wouldn't put it passed him to have been some sort of assassin in a past life. "So I see that it turns out that you _did_ go into a loony bin and picked up a mate. I always knew it was going to happen."

Rin thwacked him. "Hey, hey, hey. If Kagome's a whack-job, that makes _me_ a koala!"

Sesshoumaru sighed gently and patted Rin's head. Inuyasha shook his head and once again hid his face behind his hand, hoping that somehow when he looked up again, she would be gone. Kagome gave the other girl an awkward 'um. . . okay, wtf?' stare.

Rin remained oblivious of the sudden attention and grinned up at her mate. "Oi, oi. We should tell everyone else!" she chirped.

Sesshoumaru frowned down at her and, like a parent would to a stubborn child, started, "It's neither your place or mine- - -"

"_Hey!_" Rin called, hand cupped around her mouth as she bellowed, once again completely disregarding her Fluffinator.

Sesshoumaru – bless his patient soul – continued on, "- - -to delve into and make public such personal matters as these. If my idiot brother wants to tell- - -"

"_HEY!"_

"- - -about how he miraculously managed to get such a perfect mate like Kagome- - -"

Rin growled low in her throat savagely, stomping her foot and letting out a few. . . creative swears- - -

"Chips and dip thrown across for a _sea monkey_ where did they _go_? They better get their sharpie marker rears _over here_ if they know what's good for their sweet tea!"

- - -before whirling and beaming at Inuyasha and Kagome. "No worries!" she chirped. "I'll be _right_ back. I'm just going to go over and drag 'em over. Be-are-be; gee-too-gee!" And she skipped away merrily.

"- - -than it is completely up to them. We have no say in this matter and, as such, we need to respect their decision on whom they wish and wish not to tell," Sesshoumaru finished, completely ignoring that fact that the target of his lecture was half way across the graveyard and didn't have a chance of hearing him.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm not going to lie. She scares the shit out of me. She fits you perfectly. Better _you_ than _me_, anyway. If _I_ was stuck with her for all eternity. . ." Inuyasha drifted off and closed his eyes briefly in horror, unable to resist the shudder that spread down his spine. "Let's just say, I'm happy for you."

Inuyasha received a cold stare from his brother. "I wouldn't trade her for the world," the bastard drawled in monotone.

Inuyasha snorted. And that was all the time for reaction he was allowed before Rin zipped back over to where they were stand, half carrying and half dragging the Takahashi couple in her enthusiasm.

She deposited them and then took her place next to Sesshoumaru, nearly trembling with her excitement.

"Rin, whatever is the matter, dear?" Izayoi questioned, not sure if the cause for girl's sudden burst in energy was from something bad or good.

"Yes," Inutaisho joined. "I'm slightly confused as to the sudden attack on us, but would you mind- - -"

"Oh-em-_geee!_" Rin squealed, completely cutting off the older Takahasha and earning a sigh from her mate in doing so. However, she gave him no chance in starting a lecture on proper etiquette before plunging on, "So you'll _never_ guess what just happened!"

Izayoi and Inutaisho exchanged a glance before Izayoi murmured, "You took a bath. . . ?"

Rin crossed her arms testily and huffed. "_No_!" she sulked. "Why does everyone assume that? Rin _hates_ baths! Except when she takes them with Fluffy-kins!" She beamed at her mate – who was once again ready to give her a lecture on the proper time and proper place to say certain things. Inuyasha screwed his eyes shut, brutally slaughtering any and all thoughts that came along with the girl's proclamation. Kagome catalogued it in the 'a wee bit too much info' pocket of her brain. The Takahasha couple merely smiled tightly at their daughter-in-law and made no other reaction.

"My apologies," Izayoi assured. "I shouldn't have assumed anything. Why don't you tell us what's going- - -"

Sesshoumaru cut in to give his mate an early warning. "Rin. Remember what I told you about- - -"

"Inuyasha and Kagome," Rin started, pausing for a dramatic pause. She waited a full second – she had to build the suspense, after all! – and then continued, "are getting _maaaarried_! Oh, that's right! Sound the wedding bells and- - -"

"Married?" Izayoi echoed. She looked over at the couple who were on the discussion board curiously. "Is it true?"

"And why does everyone ask _that_ after I tell them?" Rin asked no one in particularly semi-crossly, slightly peeved at being interrupted. "Of _course_ it's- - -"

"Yep." This time it was Kagome that affirmed it. She beamed at her mother-in-law-to-be and the older woman mirrored the expression.

"Well, this most certainly is a pleasant turn in events!" she stated, turning towards her mate. "Don't you think so?"

Inutaisho looked at Inuyasha before smirking – '_What is _up_ with the males in this family and _smirking_?!_' Kagome thought in mild frustration – and nodding. "I couldn't have chosen a better mate if I had to pick one out myself."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh, give me a break. You couldn't have picked out a better mate if you created the perfect girl. Kagome's just that damn special."

The girl in question blinked and stared at her mate-to-be through her lashes, once again flushing a fiery red. "Well, I'm glad someone actually thinks so," she murmured.

Inuyasha looked semi-embarrassed at his declaration but smirked – once again irking Kagome, but she kept her comments silent that time.

"Okay, okay," Rin chimed in, after staying silent for a blissfully long time. "Everyone join hands and get in a circle!"

Everyone craned their neck to stare at the girl like she had grown a red tentacle made of jell-o. Except Sesshoumaru. He remained unmoved, too used to his mate's deranged behavior. She _was_ slightly mentally disturbed after all.

"Wha? Don't look at me – _do it_," she instructed.

Confused, everyone continued to just gawk blankly at her.

She sighed and mumbled things to herself before grabbing a hold of Sesshoumaru's and Inuyasha's hand – the latter cringing from the sudden contact with the not-right-in-the-head girl. "Now. Fluffy. Grab onto tou-san's hand. Do it. Now."

Fluffy flicked an annoyed gaze her way before complying and took a hold of his father's hand, albeit it being slightly awkward.

"Good, now- - -"

She didn't have to finish the next instruction. Instead, Inutaisho took Izayoi's hand in his and Izayoi took Kagome's. Kagome decided to play along and took Inuyasha's.

"Very good," Rin praised them, pleased.

All Inuyasha could think was, '_Should we be encouraging her by listening to what she instructs us to do. . .?_'

"Now. Know what we're going to do? Of course you know what we're going to do. How silly of me to even ask. I expect you all to join in. 'Kay? 'Kay. Now- - -" And, just like that, no warning, bada-bing bada-boom, Rin broke out into song.

"_We are family!  
I got all my sisters and me!  
We are family-hee-hee-hee!_"

Sesshoumaru snatched his hand from his father's uncertain grip to slap it across Rin's mouth.

Everyone remained unmoved by the sudden song. They had been expecting worse, quite honestly.

But for some reason, the act – the atmosphere – the _happiness_ – was absolutely perfect. And he leaned down, his nose nuzzling Kagome's hair, and murmured in her ear, "Winner, winnder, chicken dinner. . ."

"Rin," her Fluffy-kins reprimanded at the same time in the background, "we are _not_ to sing in the middle of a graveyard in the middle of a funeral. Do you understand?"

Rin merely nodded and when Sesshoumaru removed his hand, she pouted at him. "What's _wrong _with my singing?" she demanded.

Kagome broke out into a joyous smile and looked up at Inuyasha. "Winner, winner, chicken dinner," she echoed, the words doubling as an agreement and a promise.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Sesshoumaru lectured from far away – or at least, from far away for Inuyasha and Kagome. "But like I said before, there is a time and a place- - -"

"You're just jealous that you can't sing as good as I can," Rin deadpanned.

"Rin," her mate started after a pause. "I hate to break this to you, but you're singing ability is the same as that of a gnat- - -"

"_Jealous_!" Rin squawked.

Inuyasha lowered his head, fully intent on kissing Kagome senseless- - -

"_I LOVE YOU!  
YOU LOVE ME!_"

Rin popped out of no where and leapt between them, an arm braced around either of their necks.

"_WE'RE BEST FRIENDS LIKE FRIENDS SHOULD BE!_"

Inuyasha gave the structure between him and his Kagome a glower – completely. . . well, mostly playful.

Kagome gave a tight-lipped smile when she made eye contact with Rin.

"_WITH A GREAT BIG HUG!_"

Sesshoumaru sighed, rubbing his temples.

"_AND A KISS FROM ME TO YOU!_"

What the _fuck_ had he been thinking when he had mated with such a hyperactive ditz?

"_WON'T YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME, TOO?_"

00000000

**That's it. It's… OVER. o.O**

**Now. These are **IMPORTANT **announcements, so listen up.**

**FIRSTLY: omg, I absolutely adore you, **sistersgrimm**! After I got over the fact that part of the snippet of how you thought this whole journey wrapped seemed to be exactly what was going through my mind (you'll see what I mean in the epilogue… (see THIRDLY for more details…)), it gave me endless entertainment. Thanks a ton for writing it. I LOVED IT. XD **

**SECONDLY: thank you one and all for bothering to read this to begin with. It took three years to tell my tale and it was extremely painful for you poor guys the first thirty or so chapters since I was such a bad author… sankyuu for having patience with me! Run on sentences, plot holes, painful grammar, cheese, corn, and ALL! :)**

**THIRDLY: … well, shit, there's going to be an epilogue. T-T This thing refuses to DIE! T-T But yes, I have an epilogue planned. It's short (extremely so; planned only to be four pages maximum) but it wraps up one or two loose ends that I have. If you want me to post it, tell me. Or if you REALLY want, I'll let it go as is. I know how it is for a reader to think a fic is being drawn out. **

**So. Do you want the epilogue or no? Go to the poll in my profile to vote. You can tell me also in a review, but it may just be more effective to "officially" vote in my profile. XD**

**FOURTHLY: I'll be completely rewriting the beginning of this, since I can't stand it, the moment I completely finish this. (COUGHafter-you-decided-whether-you-want-an-epilogue-or-notCOUGH) So I suggest you take this fic out of your story alerts or something cuz I'll be deleting chapter and replacing them left and right soon. It's gonna be all purty and not so hate-hated from me.**

**FIFTHLY: have a great Thanksgiving, one and all! ^_^**

**Now…**

**Please. ****Review. ****My first-ever Fic has just come to a close. Please drop me a comment and tell me what you thought?**

**Ja ne!**

**P.S. Geebus, long A/N. Saankyuu for reading all that! o_O I know i wouldn't've.**

**P.P.S. Unedited. -.- i was so excited about this being done, i didn't bother waiting. XD appreciate it!**


	45. A Dark Past

Disclaimer: -grins- My darling Fluffinator, who owns you?  
::Sesshoumaru:: Rin does. And I would appreciate it if you stopped calling me that.  
-grins evilly this time- And who is Rin based off of?  
::Sesshoumaru:: It is rumored she has your personality. –eyes narrow-  
-flutters eyelashes innocently- So if Rin is me, in essence, guessssssss what? I indirectly own you—  
::Sesshoumaru:: You gave Rin her annoying personality. For that, you deserve death. –stands-  
O.O I DON'T OWN YOU, I DON'T OWN YOU.  
::Sesshoumaru:: -sits back down- That is what I thought.

A/N: The epilogue is short, like I told you. At the bottom, my final notes rest which would be nice for you to read. And below that is a little FAQ section for those questions that kept popping into your head, like: 'WHY IS EVERYONE SO BLOODY YOUNG?!' that you can skim through only if you had asked one of the questions. X3  
AND! Without further ado… please enjoy the last part of my (bloody awful) fic! :D

AGE:  
InuYasha: 19  
Kagome: 18  
Kouga: 19  
Naraku: 19  
Miroku: 19  
Sango: 18  
Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Epilogue: A Dark Past

00000000

_Tacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktack- - -_

The keys of a well-worn keyboard make a lullaby to the ears of those who are constantly using it. With time comes skill of the keys, and soon, the joints in fingers become more nimble and can _fly_ across- - -

"Um. . ." The keyboard's song came to an abrupt halt. Kagome froze, fingers dramatically poised above the keys in stiff claws. An already sore nibble of her inner lip slipped back into its place between two of her canines and she started drilling into it with her teeth, a nervous habit she had developed over the months. Idly, her one hand drifted away from its place above her keyboard and snuggled on her lap in the nettles of her knit-sweater. As her mind wandered, her thumb gently drew circles on the material over her stomach.

And suddenly, her eyes brightened and a wicked grin busted out across her face. She shifted, settling deeper into her chair, and resumed her lullaby.

_Tacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktacktack- - -_

And then, as suddenly as she had stopped the last time, her hands stopped working after one last _tack-THUNK_ of the spacebar as it was overzealously hit for the final time – the final, drawn-out note in her symphony.

Dramatically, she didn't move for a second. But then, she released a sigh and melted back into her plush computer chair. "There," she murmured, grinning stupidly. "It's- - -"

Her moment of bliss, however, was abruptly interrupted when the door opened and a semi-annoyed and exasperated "_Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii_!" came from her mate, her husband, her hanyou, her Inuyasha.

Kagome, still as content as a purring kitten, swiveled her chair in his direction, grinning maniacally.

Inuyasha made a face at the apparently offending gold, glittery card he had pinched between two fingers at arms length, keeping it as far as possible. "It even _smells_ perverted," he whined pathetically to Kagome.

"What is it?" Another grin stretch across Kagome's face as she asked.

"An invitation to _hell_. As if it's bad enough we were forced to touch this. . . this monstrosity, it's _frilly_ and covered in _glitter_." Inuyasha shuddered at the thought. "Not manly at _all_."

"Sango probably helped!" Kagome cheered, clapping excitedly. "She's so happy now that her and Miroku are getting married!"

"But it's for _Miroku's_ bachelor party," her mate grumbled. "He shouldn't be lowered to such. . . such barbaric- - -"

Kagome laughed at him. "He's also extremely happy these days with her by his side. He probably agreed to have glitter and frill, no questions asked and love the first thing in his mind."

Inuyasha stopped and eyed her. "You're acting even chipper than usual – and perish _that_ thought. What the hell did you do lately?"

Kagome wriggled in place and squealed. "It's done, Inuyasha! It's _done_!" She squealed again.

He smirked at her and crossed his arms, the damnable card actually touching him – blasphemy against his very morale – in his moment of distraction, glitter, frill, gooey love, and all. "Are you actually going to tell me what's it's about now, wench?"

Kagome nodded enthusiastically, shifted deeper into her chair again, and rattled out the tangled web of her story. "It's about this guy who's been betrayed by people he trusts and so he winds up in this asylum of a sort. Weird, right? And so months pass and the guy only grows more and more bitter until a charming, beautiful woman comes along and works with him to get him out. In the process of healing him, however, they fall into a forbidden love. When the guy gets out and goes home, the woman is left heartbroken, but due to a present he left her, she finds the courage to go to his home and visit him where a toad-man separated her from her love. Once she had infiltrated the humungous house, she met the man who shall hereby be known as the Fluffinator and- - -"

At first, Inuyasha had frowned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, at the familiarity of the tale. But then he rolled his eyes. "Oi, that's _my_ story, wench."

Kagome beamed at him. "Oh, I _knew _you'd love it!"

Inuyasha continued to stare at her, unfazed. "And what, pray tell, are you going to call this epic novel? It's sounds kinda stupid to me. Is it going to be something like- - -"

"_A Dark Past_," Kagome informed him, cutting him off before he could list off some sarcastic titles.

Inuyasha's mouth closed slowly and he stared at her for several seconds. "Say that again?"

"_A Dark Past_," his mate repeated.

". . . What's wrong with you?" he dryly asked.

"Well, I'm married to _you_, for one thing," Kagome chipped in happily.

He gaped. "You're taking _my_ story and giving _that _crappy name and then _insulting_ me? I'm suing you, wench! There's _no way_- - -"

Kagome pouted and he melted slightly. "Well, we thought it was a good name. We thought about it for a _long_ time, believe you me," she assured him.

" 'We'?" Inuyasha uncertainly echoed. "I don't think I ever talked about that with you. Hell, you wouldn't even tell me what the damn thing was _about_- - -"

"Not _you_." Kagome rolled her eyes.

Inuyasha paused. "Um, shit. . . Okay, Kagome, I know that voices may seem like a normal thing – especially when Rin is around, but- - -"

"Idiot," Kagome laughed. "That's also not what I meant. Ever wonder what the happy ending to _our_ story was?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms huffily. "We're gonna _burn_ that place of doom and destruction that I was forced to stay at?"

His mate was unfazed. "I'm pregnant," she breathed.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to let out a witty retort only to snap it shut and blink. For a while, all either of them could 'say' was: ". . ."

But then Inuyasha broke the silence. "Say that again?" His cocky voice wasn't so cocky anymore.

And Kagome rolled her eyes once more at her awe-struck mate. "Baby. In tummy" – she pointed at her still-flat belly – "And it's gonna make me into a humanoid rubber ball soon." She made an exaggerated circular motion in front of her in demonstration.

Inuyasha stared for a few seconds, his lips tugging upward at the thoughts that the word "baby" brought into his mind. He was going to have his own family, apart from his parents, the bastard, and Rin- - -

Inuyasha froze, and the motion made Kagome freeze. "Something wrong?" she demanded, wondering if he _didn't_ want a child. Well, oopsie if he didn't – it was already in the oven. . .

"Rin," he started slowly, his eyes slinking to the door, "is _not_ allowed to know."

00000000

**Told ya it was short. XD It was just to wrap up what Kagome was going to do as a job from then on and about her dream to be an author and all that jazz. But NOW my tale is told and I'm both happy and sad that it's over. I'm happy since I despise this Fic since my writing style is so much better these days but I'm sad since this right here was my first Fic ever. I started it four years ago and posted it on here when I finally got the courage to. **

**Thank you reviewers! I haven't gotten a SINGLE flame for this, which is shocking. Really, it is. I got three-hundred-and-some reviews of pure praise. O.O How I did that, the world may never know.**

**Comments are still appreciated, as are flames (let's see if I can get one, ne? XD). **

**The final bit below is just some frequently asked questions. Look over them if you had a question of your own—it might be down there. XP**

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone and thank you for reading. :D**

**Ja ne! (For the final time! :'D)**

**::: ::: ::: ::: FAQ ::: ::: ::: :::  
**

Why is everyone so young?  
**ANS: Keep in mind that I started writing this four years ago. I was the tender age of eleven at the start of this and at that foolish age, I didn't want to make the characters older than they were in the anime/manga (or older than they appeared, anyway). Also, since I wanted Inuyasha in an asylum-like center for under aged children, Inuyasha couldn't really be older than 18 or he would legally be allowed to leave. Since he's still under his parent's watch, though, he could be considered "under aged" at 18 still. And so, Kagome couldn't be older than him because my eleven-year-old-mind didn't like the idea of an older Kagome. Thus, everyone was young—Miroku, Sango, and Kikyou as well. **

If Kagome's so young, how can she be graduated from school and already employed?  
**ANS: First and foremost, check out the answer above. But as well as that, I DID do research. My grandmother is an RN nurse and she explained the basics to me. I had Kagome a genius, and thus she skipped a few grades in elementary school so she was ahead of the game and since she was so smart, the moment she got her first degree, she got the job under supervision of Kaede. It was kinda like a training thing, which isn't very professional, I know, but I didn't think so when I was younger, so please just nod and pretend. I'll be editing this like I said, so yeah… things will get more practical. Also, this is FanFiction and I don't think EVERYthing needs to be 100 percent accurate. XD**

If Sango's so young, how can she already be employed as a psychiatrist/therapist?  
**ANS: The same with Kagome, I knew the basics and had her a bit of a genius as well. But as you can see, Sango wasn't perfect at her job. She was interning as an apprentice to Mr. Dai and thus when he was gone, she was just taking over for a few days (not very professional, but when I was younger, I thought it was perfectly fine). So in short, she's not quite "professional" yet. She just acted like she was.**

Why was Sango allowed to work with the kids if she obviously didn't know what she was doing and diagnosed everyone as "depressed"?  
**ANS: When I started this, I was making a point with the "depression," thing, even if no one could tell. Everyone I knew was saying "oh, Sayo's starting that teenage depression phase; just ignore her moods," and I was SICK and TIRED of everyone assuming that teenagers always acted like they did purely because of depression, because that's not always true. The same goes for everyone in the facility with Inuyasha who were mostly teens. Sango diagnosed them all as "depressed" because that's what's wrong with teenagers in society's mind. That, and their attitude—which is the result of this infamous "depression."**

Why is Miroku able to be employed as a nurse?  
**ANS: Miroku is there solely for Inuyasha. He's there to help Inuyasha open up since they're best friends. He's a monk technically—with the Buddhist background and all that—but he was enrolled as a "nurse" to be there for his friend. He doesn't do anything else but act as Inuyasha's personal "nurse." He doesn't have a degree or anything in any medical field, which ONCE AGAIN isn't very professional, but oh, well. That's how I made my fic—to be unprofessional. XD**

Why is Rin so crazy? I don't like when she's such a crackhead.  
**ANS: I am the person who randomly stands up in the mall and yells "YOUR PENIS IS NEAR MY VAGINA!" before sitting back down and continuing to eat my cheesy fries like nothing happened. When a good song plays, I am the person who jumps up on the table and starts to sing and dance, pulling others up with me so they can stop for a second and **_**live**_**. I am the person who takes an hour and a half to walk into a hotel because the entrance doors rotate and I HAVE to spin in them because it's so much **_**fun**_**. I am the person who doesn't care what others think. I am Rin in this story. I decided taking Rin's personality as a child and maturing it was too much work (and there were so many possibilities) that I just made her me. I didn't go out and read other Fics, see that Rin was always crazy, and do the same. Everything that Rin does, I have done at some point in my life. It's exactly how I would react to everything. I'm sorry if you don't like my personality… but I also don't care because it's what makes me **_**me**_**! 3 There is no one on Earth more hyper than me. ^_^**

Why is everyone getting married so young (at 18)?  
**ANS: Some people find their soul mate at a young age, some find their soul mate when they turn 30, some find their soul mate when they turn 70, and some just never find their soul mate. If you find that special person at a young age, then get married. You're gonna do it anyway, whether it's now or in forty years. And as well as that, in "real life" people DO get married young. My one friend is 19 and his one-year anniversary just came up last month and he never for a day regrets marrying his wife. I also have another 19-year-old friend who has been engaged with his fiancée for a few months now and is getting married soon, when he turns 20. Getting married because of children is foolish, I agree. Getting married because of love—pure love, not lust or delusions—no matter how young, is not. And those type of marriages last, too. My great-aunt married my great-uncle when they were 18 and they've been married 48 years and have no plans of divorce. It CAN happen, ya know. It's just hard to find that "soul mate" with the delusions of lust, money, and life.**

So Kagome and Inuyasha's soul fit together like a "puzzle"? Then when Kikyou "gained" part of Kagome's soul, wouldn't the "puzzle" be ruined?  
**ANS: Once the puzzle is together, if you want to take some pieces off, it's extremely hard to take a random piece out of the middle, isn't it? The entire thing is pulled apart and you have to pat it back down. However, if you take the outline pieces off, you still have the puzzle, just not the edges. Make sense? Imagine the puzzle being half red (Inuyasha) and half blue (Kagome) and someone taking off five or six pieces from the blue. Puzzle's still there, just not the edges. I hope that made sense to y'all. XD If not and you **_**really**_** wanna know, PM me and I'll try and give a clearer explanation. **

Are you going to write more Inuyasha fics?  
**ANS: Uh… not right away. I **_**might**_** rewrite the first three chapters I have posted of **_**Eternity's Wake**_** and work on writing it in a little while. But if I write another IY fic, I'm going to wait to write most of it before posting it. It's SO MUCH easier that way. XD Also, right now, with Christmas and my personal issues (and I have a lot right now to deal with), I don't have a lot of time to write, so when I do, it's to finish already posted Fics. When I get some chapters for my other fictions written (and a plot bunny strikes), I'll think about it. But for now, it's just **_**A Dark Past**_**. If you like Samurai Deeper Kyo or Death Note then check out my other stories, but other than that… don't hold your breath for a while. XD**

I really liked this story! Are you doing a sequel?  
**ANS: Hahahahahahahaha!! You funny. XDD No, I'm not going to and **_**will never**_** do one. One: I'd be dragging out a plot that's done and dead and dragging out a story that's completely over. Two: I don't think I'd be able to tolerate writing this anymore. Four years, forty-five chapters, 150,000 words, over five hundred pages… It's done. Complete. Finis. :D **

**My tale has been told.  
Time to go write your own.**


End file.
